CRAIG, CO, USA
N3836E
AEROSPATIALE SA315B
THE HELICOPTER WAS LONG-LINING A 1280-POUND AIR COMPRESSOR TO AN 8500-FOOT MSL MOUNTAIN DRILLING SITE. WITNESSES HEARD A SQUEALING SOUND AND BANG. THEY OBSERVED GRAY-WHITE SMOKE AND ORANGE-BLUE FLAME EMITTING FROM THE EXHAUST. THE PLT RELEASED THE LOAD AND ATTEMPTED TO MAKE A FORCED LANDING IN A NEARBY CLEARING. THE HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CRASHED. DISASSEMBLY OF THE ENG REVEALED THAT ALL SIX SCREWS IN THE DIFFUSER LABYRINTH SEAL WERE LOOSE. ONE SCREW HAD BACKED OUT AHD HAD SCORED THE BACK OF THE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR. THE SCREW HAD ROTATED 180 DEGREES AND WAS BENT OPPOSITE THE COMPRESSOR'S DIRECTION OF ROTATION. THE HOLE WAS ELONGATED.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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