19870730040529A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369HS · Griffith, IN · July 30, 1987

Date
July 30, 1987 · 16:00 local
Place
Griffith, IN
Airport
Griffith
Phase of flight
Sfl Autorotation
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N42405
NTSB investigation
NTSBCHI87LA180
Reported as
Hughes 369HS
Reported engine
Allison 250C20
People aboard
4
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
4,514 total410 in this make and model100 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.

During a simulated autorotation, the helicopter landed hard. The main rotor severed the tailboom.

As the FAA filed it

DURING A SIMULATED AUTOROTATION, THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD. THE MAIN ROTOR SEVERED THE TAILBOOM.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.