Pacific Ocean, PO, MS
N501VS
HUGHES 369D
The pilot departed for a flight over the open ocean. About 1 hour into the flight, the pilot descended the helicopter to sea level to attach a GPS buoy to a log. After attaching the buoy and as the helicopter was climbing through 400 to 500 ft above the water, the pilot heard a bang come from the area of the rotor head, followed by the cyclic control shaking. The pilot contacted support vessel personnel, notified them of the issue, and proceeded in the vessel's direction, but the helicopter continued experiencing intermittent flight control problems and was unable to reach the vessel. The pilot attempted to deploy the inflatable floats; however, they did not deploy. The pilot subsequently initiated a ditching, and the helicopter impacted water and rolled inverted. The pilot and passenger egressed the helicopter, which then sank, and the helicopter was not recovered.
The pilot and passenger departed on a fish survey flight over the open ocean. About an hour into the flight, a descent was made to sea level to attach a GPS buoy on a log. After attaching the buoy, the helicopter was climbing through 400-500 ft, when the pilot heard a bang come from the area of the rotor head, followed by a shake in the cyclic control. The pilot radioed the support vessel notifying them of the issue and proceeded to head in their direction. The pilot continued to experience intermittent flight control problems, and unable to reach the vessel, attempted to deploy the inflatable floats, however they did not deploy. The pilot subsequently declared a mayday and initiated a forced water landing. After the helicopter impacted the water, it rolled inverted. The pilot and passenger egressed before the helicopter sank. The helicopter was not recovered.
An in-flight mechanical malfunction with the helicopter, which necessitated a ditching in the ocean. The reason for the malfunction could be determined because the helicopter sank and was not recovered.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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