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Pilot of a medical helicopter noted a vibration in the cyclic during cruise flight; diverted and performed a roll-on landing at an airport. Pitch change link had failed.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1055391 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201212 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | McDonnell Douglas Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Helicopter Control Systems |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
We were transporting a patient from [one] hospital to [another] hospital. We were in cruise flight at 2;000 ft and 140 KIAS. The aircraft began to experience a one to one vertical vibration and I felt feedback in the cyclic. I was abeam [airport] so I called tower; declared an emergency; and executed a roll-on landing to runway 18 without incident.we contacted our communication center; informed them of the situation; and they dispatched a unit to pick-up the patient. Maintenance arrived and upon inspection it was discovered that the lower bearing on the black pitch change link failed and came unstaked from the rod end.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Pilot of a medical helicopter noted a vibration in the cyclic during cruise flight; diverted and performed a roll-on landing at an airport. Pitch change link had failed.
Narrative: We were transporting a patient from [one] hospital to [another] hospital. We were in cruise flight at 2;000 FT and 140 KIAS. The aircraft began to experience a one to one vertical vibration and I felt feedback in the cyclic. I was abeam [airport] so I called Tower; declared an emergency; and executed a roll-on landing to Runway 18 without incident.We contacted our communication center; informed them of the situation; and they dispatched a unit to pick-up the patient. Maintenance arrived and upon inspection it was discovered that the lower bearing on the black pitch change link failed and came unstaked from the rod end.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.