# Accident 19980924026699A: Hughes 369E, Mesa, AZ, September 24, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 24, 1998, 15:40 local time
- Place: Mesa, AZ
- Airport: Falcon Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4297° N, 111.7105° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4297&lon=-111.7105&mi=10
- Aircraft: N685F (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369E
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,082 total, 167 in this make and model, 97 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98LA304](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA304) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980924026699A

## Narrative

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

HELICOPTER TAIL ROTOR STRUCK THE GROUND DURING PRACTICE AUOT ROTATIONS. (-23) WHILE PRACTICING/DEMONSTRATING 180 DEGREE T/D AUTOROTATIONS, CIP FLARED HIGH AND "FELL THROUGH" AUTOROTATION CAUSING TAIL ROTOR TO CONTACT GROUND. TAIL ROTOR BLADES AND TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT SEVERELY DAMAGED, TAIL CONE PAINT MISSING IN SPOTS-MID/TOP OF TAIL CONE-INDICATING TAIL CONE FLEXED UPON TAIL ROTOR BLADES CONTACTING GROUND (SUDDEN STOPAGE OF T/R DRIVE SYST.) NOTE: CIP ATEN, ACCIDENT 5-12-95 WITH HUGHES MODEL 269C, SIMILIAR TO THIS ACCIDENT WHILE DEMO POWER-RECOVERY AUTO ROTATIONS.  (.19)ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1998, AT 1540 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A BOEING 369E HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND DURING A PRACTICE 180-DEGREE AUTOROTATION AT THE FALCON FIELD AIRPORT, MESA, ARIZONA.  THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE.  THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT AND DUAL STUDENT WERE NOT INJURED.  THE LOCAL AREA INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT DEPARTED FALCON FIELD FOR THE SOD TRAINING AREA AT 1525. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. (.4) THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT AND HIS STUDENT WERE PRACTICING AUTOROTATIONS TO A TURF AREA, WHICH WAS WET AND SOFT.  THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT DEMONSTRATED A 180-DE   GREE AUTOROTATION, WHICH HE SAID APPEARED TO FINISH WITH A NORMAL DECELERATION FLARE AND TOUCHDOWN. AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT STATED HE HEARD A LOUD RATTLING SOUND COMING FROM THE TAILBOOM.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXAMINED AND FOUND THAT DURING THE AUTOROTATION, THE TAILROTOR BLADES HAD HIT THE GROUND CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES AND TAILBOOM, AND IT HAD SEVERED THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVESHAFT.  GROUND WITNESSES SAID THE HELICOPTER HIT THE GROUND HARDER THAN NORMAL.

## 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 LAX98LA304](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA304), Sep 24, 1998: Boeing 369E (N685F), Mesa, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: A hard landing caused by the pilot's improper flare during a simulated autorotatative landing. A factor in the accident was the soft wet sod landing area.

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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