The CH-47D hovers above the river before the accident. (NTSB/Witness Video)
Service (USFS) arrived at a helibase near Salmon, Idaho, to conduct water drops on the Moose Fire, a rapidly expanding blaze on the south side of the Salmon River that was ignited by an unextinguished campfire. Fire- suppression flights began the following day, using a 2,600-gal. bucket on a 200-ft. longline to dip water from the river, and continued on Jul. 21.
The Aircraft The accident helicopter, N388RA, was originally manufactured by Boeing in 1972 and delivered to the US Army as a CH-47C. In 1988, it was remanufac- tured as a CH-47D; the army accepted it in 1989. The aircraft was sold to Columbia
Helicopters in 2014 in a US General Services Administration auction, and then, in 2022, it was overhauled again. ROTAK Helicopter Services accepted delivery of the aircraft on Jun. 5, 2022, with a total airframe time of 7,666.4 hours and zero hours Hobbs time. The Chinook had flown another 69.5 hours as of Jul. 20, 2022. The CH-47D uses a pair of
Honeywell T55-GA-714A turboshaft engines, each rated for 4,777 shaft horsepower, to drive two fully artic- ulated three-bladed main rotors mounted fore and aft. Seen from above, the forward rotor rotates counterclockwise and the aft rotates clockwise, thus neutralizing torque reaction and providing yaw as well as pitch-and-roll control without need for a tail rotor. The aircraft was
An aerial view of the accident site. (NTSB Photo)
rated for a maximum gross weight of 50,000 lb. and was type certificated in the restricted category with operat- ing certificates for Parts 133 (external load), 135 (on-demand air taxi), and 137 (aerial application).
The Crew Both pilots held commercial certif- icates for rotorcraft helicopter with instrument and instrument instructor ratings. The 41-year-old pilot was also rated in both single- and multi-engine airplanes. He claimed a total of 5,120 hours of flight experience, of which
4,015 were in the CH-47 or its civilian counterpart, the Boeing BV234. The pilot had completed vertical
reference and external-load profi- ciency checks on Jun. 27, 2022, using a 200-ft. longline “and was approved to conduct Class A, B, and C external loads in a CH-47D helicopter.” He had also “demonstrated proficiency … [in] Part 137 firefighting operations in the CH-47D.” The 36-year-old copilot had 1,727
hours of flight experience. He began second-in-command (SIC) training in the CH-47D on Feb. 27, 2022, and had
JUN 2025 POWER UP 61
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
