20130125001919A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369HS · Monroe Township, OH · January 25, 2013

Date
January 25, 2013 · 09:28 local
Place
Monroe Township, OH
Phase of flight
Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N193M
Reported as
Hughes 369HS
Reported engine
Rolls Royce-Allison 250-C18
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
400 total400 in this make and model17 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.

The pilot flew the helicopter into heavy snow, low ceilings and forward visibility. Due to the flight conditions the pilot stated he had descended to a lower altitude. The pilot stated that he had an engine-out indication, and entered an auto-rotation in to a nearby farm field. Upon reaching the ground , the pilot held the cyclic full aft, causing the tail skid to contact the ground which broke the tailboom upward into the rotating main rotor blades. The aircraft remained upright on its skids, and no one was injured.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT FLEW THE HELICOPTER INTO HEAVY SNOW, LOW CEILINGS AND FORWARD VISIBILITY. DUE TO THE FLIGHT CONDITIONS THE PILOT STATED HE HAD DESCENDED TO A LOWER ALTITUDE. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD AN ENGINE-OUT INDICATION, AND ENTERED AN AUTO-ROTATION IN TO A NEARBY FARM FIELD. UPON REACHING THE GROUND , THE PILOT HELD THE CYCLIC FULL AFT, CAUSING THE TAIL SKID TO CONTACT THE GROUND WHICH BROKE THE TAILBOOM UPWARD INTO THE ROTATING MAIN ROTOR BLADES. THE AIRCRAFT REMAINED UPRIGHT ON ITS SKIDS, AND NO ONE WAS INJURED.