# Accident 19970927029079A: Hiller FH1100, Pittsfield, MA, September 27, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 27, 1997, 12:00 local time
- Place: Pittsfield, MA
- Airport: Pittsfield Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Sfl Autorotation
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.4276° N, 73.2908° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PITTSFIELD MUNI (PSF), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.4276&lon=-73.2908&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5045F, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5045F-2018-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Fairchild Hiller FH-1100 (registry code 3376502, https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-hiller-fh-1100) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250 SER 250HP (registry code 03002, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-ser-250hp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HILLER FH1100
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C18B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 752 total, 499 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD97FA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD97FA123) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970927029079A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CRASHED NEAR RUNWAY DURING BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW. PHASE OF FLIGHT UNKNOWN NO ANOMALIES FOUND. (.4) THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING AN AUTOROTATION, AS PART OF A BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW. HE CLIMBED THE HELICOPTER TO 800 FEET AGL, REDUCED THE AIRSPEED TO 80 MPH, LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE, ROLLED OFF THE THROTTLE TO SPLIT THE NEEDLES, BUT THE NEEDLES DID NOT SPLIT. AS HE CONTINUED TO ROLL OFF THE THROTTLE, HE NOTICED THE RPM'S IN THE LOW GREEN AREA, AND THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO DESCEND RAPIDLY. WITHIN 5 SECONDS, THE HELICOPTER DESCENDED, AND LANDED HARD AGAINST A BANK RISING FROM A SWAMP. A POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE PILOT'S COLLECTIVE IN THE FULL UP POSITION. CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED FROM THE PILOT'S COLLECTIVE AND CYCLIC CONTROL, TO THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM. THE LEFT COLLECTIVE AND LEFT CYCLIC SUSTAINED IMPACT DAMAGE. NO PRE-IMPACT ABNORMALITIES WERE OBSERVED. THE FIRST PILOT RECEIVING THE BIENNIAL REPORTED OVER 499 HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL, AND USED THE HELICOPTER IN A SCENIC RIDE BUSINESS. THE SECOND PILOT HAD LOGGED OVER 5,186 OF TOTAL HELICOPTER FLIGHT EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING 4 HOURS IN THIS                                                        MAKE AND MODEL, WHICH HE LOGGED 30 YEARS AGO. SINCE HIS BIENNIAL IN A CESSNA 150, HE LOGGED OVER 150 HOURS OF HELICOPTER TIME.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB IAD97FA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD97FA123), Sep 27, 1997: Fairchild Hiller FH-1100 (N5045F), Pittsfield, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The first pilot's improper procedures for an autorotation, and improper flare which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the second pilot's inadequate remedial action.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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