Saint James, LA, USA
N1385W
BELL UH-1B
ACFT WAS AT A 150' HOVER PREPARING TO PICK UP A LOG WHEN IT EXPERIENCED A POWER LOSS. WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY HEARD A LOUD 'BANG' AND THE PILOT RADIOED 'GET OUT OF THE WAY'. ACFT AUTOROTATED THRU 60' TO 80' TREES WITH VERY LOW ROTOR RPM AND IMPACTED WITH NO HORZ SPEED AND HIGH VERTICAL SPEED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT ENG HAD EXPERIENCED SEVERE INTERNAL DAMAGE. FOUR COMPRESSOR BLADES FROM THE 4TH STAGE ROTOR WERE FOUND TO HAVE SUFFERED PROGRESSIVE FATIGUE FAILURE, WHICH IN TURN CAUSED THE REMAINDER OF THE BLADES ON THE 4TH AND 5TH STAGES TO SEPARATE LEADING TO AN ENG SURGE AND LOSS OF POWER. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN A FLT REGIME FROM WHICH THE PLT COULD NOT AFFECT A RECOVERY FROM THE ENG FAILURE.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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