WPR10LA126 · Arrow Falcon Exporters Inc OH-58A
Arrow Falcon Exporters Inc OH-58A · Accident: powerplant system/component malfunction/failure en route
From Escalon, CA to Modesto, CA
Event
- NTSB case
- WPR10LA126
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Arrow Falcon Exporters Inc OH-58A
- Aircraft type
- Arrow Falcon Exporters OH-58
- Category
- Helicopter
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N9286U
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Escalon, CATo Modesto, CA
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- En route
- Defining eventThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Powerplant system/component malfunction/failure
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The pilot had reported to his mechanic prior to the accident flight that the helicopter was not producing full power, was vibrating heavily, and that the DC generator caution light had illuminated. He also reported that his work load was heavy, and that he would continue onwards to return the helicopter to its home base. Shortly after takeoff the engine lost power, the pilot performed a forced landing, and the helicopter collided with terrain. Examination of the engine revealed that a stainless steel pneumatic fuel-to-governor control line had failed at its fitting. Witness marks on the line revealed that it had been rubbing against an adjacent oil line. Additionally, the pneumatic line had been bent during installation such that its surface was in contact with the connector ferrule. Analysis of the line's fracture surface revealed indications of high cycle fatigue. The fuel controller was replaced about 26 flight hours prior to the accident; replacement of the controller would have required the removal and installation of the failed line. The engine manufacturer provided installation guidance in multiple publications, and specifically cautioned against improper installations of engine lines. Examination of the DC starter-generator revealed that it had experienced a partial mechanical failure, which was likely the reason the pilot felt a vibration and observed a dc generator caution light. During the investigation the failed line was replaced, and the engine was successfully run in a test cell throughout its power range.
Probable cause
A loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the fatigue failure of the pneumatic fuel-to-governor control line. Also causal was the inadequate installation of the pneumatic line by maintenance personnel, and the pilot’s decision to continue flight with a known discrepancy.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record WPR10LA126
- Event ID
- 20100202X94601
- Case number
- WPR10LA126
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: cb2d9b2c3e35b8553aa1e8fa8316dc8589aafba7b426447899cb0047df03af54; retrieved 2026-09-15T13:39:45.786Z.