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SEA93LA001

1992-10-01 · HILLSBORO, Oregon, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HIO

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE DURING THE HOVER. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S LACK OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN ROTORCRAFT AND HIS DIVERSION OF ATTENTION WHILE HOVERING.

Factual narrative

WHILE ENGAGED IN A HOVER THE ATP RATED PILOT, WHO HAD ONLY 9.0 HOURS OF ROTORCRAFT TIME OF WHICH 3.5 HOURS WERE SOLO, ALLOWED THE HELICOPTER TO DESCEND AND SLIP AFT. DURING THE ENSUING GROUND COLLISION THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER AND THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE DIVERTED HIS ATTENTION TO A DEPARTING BUSINESS JET DURING WHICH TIME THE GROUND COLLISION OCCURRED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_SEA93LA001.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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