# Accident 20000327004509A: Hughes 269C, Del Rio, TX, March 27, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 27, 2000, 07:40 local time
- Place: Del Rio, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.3703° N, 100.8896° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.3703&lon=-100.8896&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1110N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1110N-2016-09-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes 269C (registry code 4470504, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-269c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming HIO-360 series (registry code 41524, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-hio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 269C
- Reported engine: LYC HIO360D1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 2,767 total, 2,250 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00GA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00GA121) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000327004509A

## Narrative

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

(.23) AIRCRAFT IMPACTED GROUND DURING PROFESSIONAL COYOTE HUNT. HELICOPTER WAS DEMOLISHED. THERE WAS NO FIRE.  ROTORS DID NOT APPEAR TO BE TURNING AT HIGH RPM ON IMPACT.  THERE WERE TWO FATALITIES.  THE PILOT AND THE USDA SHOOTER.  THE ACCIDENT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION.  ENGINE IS BEING TORN DOWN BY MANUFACTURER TO LOCATE POSSIBLE CAUSE.                               (.4) ACCORDING TO THE GROUND CREW, THERE WERE NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. FIVE MINUTES AFTER INITIAL RADIO CONTACT WITH THE HELICOPTER IN PREPARATION FOR A COYOTE ERADICATION MISSION, CONTACT WAS LOST. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ABOUT 2-MILES FROM ITS LAUNCH POINT. THE WRECKAGE REVEALED SIGNS OF A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT TERRAIN COLLISION WITH LOW OR NO ENGINE AND ROTOR SPEED. ON-SITE AND SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE ROTORCRAFT'S ENGINE, ENGINE COMPONENTS, TRANSMISSION, CLUTCH, MAIN AND TAIL ROTOR DRIVE TRAINS, AND FLIGHT CONTROLS REVEALED NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. A SPENT SHOTGUN SHELL WAS FOUND LYING LOOSE UNDER THE SEAT PANEL THAT POSSESSED A CRUSH MARK THAT APPEARED TO FIT BETWEEN TWO CRUSHING SURFACES, NAMELY, THE THROTTLE BELL CRANK AND THE COORELATOR ASSEMBLY FOR THE RIGHT SEAT WHERE THE RIGHT COLLE CTIVE CONTROL COLUMN HAD BEEN REMOVED. THE JAM SCENARIO WAS SIMULATED NUMEROUS AND SEPARATE TIMES WITH AN UNDAMAGED HU-269C AND IDENTICAL SPENT SHOTGUN SHELLS, BOTH BY THE USDA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR AND THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR. IT WAS DETERMINED THE JAM ONLY INTERFERED WITH THROTTLE ACTION TOWARD THE DECREASE POWER SETTING AND WAS EASILY OVERPOWERED BY A STRONGER TWISTING ACTION.

## 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 MIA00GA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00GA121), Mar 27, 2000: Hughes 269C (N1110N), Del Rio, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: An in-flight loss of control while maneuvering for undetermined reasons resulting in an in-flight collision with terrain. A factor in the accident was the in-flight loss of engine power and rotor rpm.

## Other reports on N1110N (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19931208051189I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19931208051189I), Dec 8, 1993: Hughes 269C (N1110N), Kailua Kona, HI, Minor damage. Student allowed an excessive rate of descent to develop. Landed on down sloping terrain. Tail rotor struck a rock.

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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