33.4223° N, 111.8226° WPlaced by OpenAirDocs: center of Mesa, AZ, within about 7 miles.Open in the map
Date
April 17, 1984 · 11:55 local
Place
Mesa, AZ
Phase of flight
Sfl Autorotation
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N6773F
Reported as
Hughes 269A
Reported engine
Lycoming HIO360B1A
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
1,265 total269 in this make and model159 in the last 90 days
From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Demonstrating autorotations in gusty winds. Lost lift. Bounced, cut off tailboom. Went into ground resonance.
As the FAA filed it
DEMONSTRATING AUTOROTATIONS IN GUSTY WINDS. LOST LIFT. BOUNCED, CUT OFF TAILBOOM. WENT INTO GROUND RESONANCE.