Accident · 2009-01-04

What the record says

Event date

2009-01-04

Event type

Accident

Highest injury level

Fatal injury

Aircraft

SIKORSKY S-76C (N748P)

Operating rule

Part 135

Operator

PHI Incorporated Operator named in NTSB report

Operated by (per NTSB report)

PHI INC

Probable cause

(1) the sudden loss of power to both engines that resulted from impact with a bird (red-tailed hawk), which fractured the windshield and interfered with engine fuel controls, and (2) the subsequent disorientation of the flight crewmembers, which left them unable to recover from the loss of power. Contributing to the accident were (1) the lack of Federal Aviation Administration regulations and guidance, at the time the helicopter was certificated, requiring helicopter windshields to be resistant to bird strikes; (2) the lack of protections that would prevent the T handles from inadvertently dislodging out of their detents; and (3) the lack of a master warning light and audible system to alert the flight crew of a low-rotor-speed condition.

Flight crew

Certification and experience as recorded in the NTSB accident database for this event. The NTSB records these facts about the crew's flying history; GroundCheck shows them as filed, without names or identities.