It doesn't happen often, but to a helo pilot doing suspended load work, a cable entanglement is a major nightmare, and it snared another victim last week.

Veteran Bell heli pilot Gary D. Freeman (right) , 55, of Lipan, Texas, was killed last Thursday when his UH-1 experienced an entanglement between his tail rotor and thge cable that had been used to suspend a load for pacific Helicopter. Freeman was a veteran of 35 years of heli-flying, had served in Vietnam, and logged some 10 years of flying for Pacific Helicopter Tours Inc. of Maui, HI.

Freeman lived part-time in Pukalani, Maui, and had just dropped off a load at 1150 local time when the suspension cable became entangled in the tail rotor. The stricken Bell went down from about 2000 feet and burned on impact. Turbulent conditions were mentioned as a possible factor in the accident. The project that Freeman was working on was part of a $400 million effort to clean the 28,799-acre Kahoolawe weapons range of unexploded ordnance. Kahoolawe was a weapons range for nearly fifty years and was shut down in 1990.

** Report created 5/23/2003  Record 1  **

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 3280U        Make/Model: UH1      Description: 204, 205, 214A/B BIGLIFTER/C (
  Date: 05/22/2003     Time: 2150
  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: KAHOOLAWE   State: HI   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
WITNESSES SAW ACFT TAIL ROTOR SEPARATE FOLLOWED BY THE MAIN ROTOR. ACFT CONTACTED THE GROUND AND ROLLED TO THE LEFT. THERE WAS A POST CRASH FIRE AND ACFT BURNED COMPLETELY. AT TIME OF THE CRASH, THE ACFT WAS ON ITS WAY BACK TO  PUUNENE AIRSTRIP EMPTY AFTER HAVING DROPPED ITS LOAD AT LZ-LEE. THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED OVER AHUPA IKI BAY. ONE PERSON SUFFERED FATAL  INJURIES. KAHOOLAWE, HI

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
WEATHER: SCT020 WIND 10 TO 20 MPH

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Business   Phase: Unknown     Operation: General Aviation
  Departed: UNKN     Dep Date:    Dep. Time:
  Destination: UNKN   Flt Plan:   Wx Briefing:
  Last Radio Cont:    Last Clearance:
  FAA FSDO: HONOLULU, HI  (WP13)  Entry date: 05/23/2003