WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board says the Federal Aviation Administration could do a better job of making sure Vietnam-era Huey helicopters undergo more stringent inspections.
The NTSB has submitted its final report following a two-year investigation into the June 2022 crash in Logan County that claimed the lives of six people.
The report said the FAA should have made Hueys as old as the one that crashed undergo more stringent inspections. The helicopter was given a certificate in the “experimental exhibition” category in December 2014. The requirements were revised in 2015.
NTSB investigators also said MARPAT, owner of the Huey, should have noticed a problem with the engine before that deadly ride.
The June 2022 crash came on the final ride of the day at the Huey Reunion at the Logan County Airport.
The incident occurred 15 minutes after the helicopter’s takeoff from the airport.
Investigators said the helicopter’s engine gave out and hit a power line. It then “came to rest partially inverted on its right side on an asphalt road” after hitting the rock face. Investigators said the cockpit and cabin landed on the road and guardrail before being consumed by flames.
Four of the six victims were from outside the state.
John Nagle II, 53, of Austin, TX
Donald Sandhoff, 69, of Durham, NC
Kevin Warren, 51, of Franklin, TN
Carolyn O’Connor, 73, of Winter Garden, FL
Marvin Bledsoe, 64, of Chapmanville, WV
Jack Collins, 65, of Chapmanville, WV