# Accident 20031018027859A: Hughes 269C, Fenton, MI, October 18, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 18, 2003, 11:35 local time
- Place: Fenton, MI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.8075° N, 83.7736° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.8075&lon=-83.7736&mi=10
- Aircraft: N456JP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N456JP-2004-03-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schweizer 269C (registry code 8059502, https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-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: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 301 total, 257 in this make and model, 39 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04LA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031018027859A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN PERFORMING STEEP BANK TURNS OVER LAKE COPNECONIC, NEAR FENTON, MI. HELICOPTER HAD LEVELED OUT, CROSSING THE LAKE AT VERY LOW ALTITUDE. MR. BRASHER HAD ASKED HIS PASSENGER IF HE HAD EVER "SKIIED" IN AN HELICOPTER. HIS PASSENGER STATED THAT HE HAD NOT, AND DID NOT WANT TO. IT APPEARS THAT MR. BRASHER ATTEMPTED THE MANEUVER ANYWAY. AT THIS TIME, IT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE CAUGHT A SKID IN THE WATER. THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE WATER NOSE FIRST. THE HELICOPTER IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO SINK. BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE ABLE TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND REACH THE SURFACE. THE PASSENGER WAS ABLE TO REACH SHORE, BUT THE PILOT DID NOT. THE PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES TO HIS HEAD AND NECK, THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED.

## 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 CHI04LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04LA015), Oct 18, 2003: Schweizer 269C (N456JP), Fenton, MI, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The intentional low altitude flight maneuvering and the ostentatious display by the pilot. The water was a factor to the accident.

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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