20180816014339A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Schweizer HUGHES 269C · Kindred, ND · August 16, 2018

Date: August 16, 2018 · 10:15 local
Place: Kindred, ND
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: N3625Z
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN18LA334
Reported as: Schweizer Hughes 269C
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 2,822 total622 in this make and model10 in the last 90 days

N3625ZRegistration cancelled Nov 29, 2019 · Schweizer HUGHES 269CS/N S1194 Airframe modelSchweizer HUGHES 269C

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.

Pilot was flying level at 1000 AGL when he heard a loud snap. The aircraft yawed right and lost power to the main rotor. The pilot attempted to auto rotate into an un-cut wheat field. The pilot misjudged the distance to the ground and landed hard. The surface was soft dirt and the left skid dug into the dirt and flipped the aircraft on its nose. The aircraft then rolled on its right side and was consumed by a post crash fire. The pilot escaped without injury.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT WAS FLYING LEVEL AT 1000 AGL WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD SNAP. THE AIRCRAFT YAWED RIGHT AND LOST POWER TO THE MAIN ROTOR. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO AUTO ROTATE INTO AN UN-CUT WHEAT FIELD. THE PILOT MISJUDGED THE DISTANCE TO THE GROUND AND LANDED HARD. THE SURFACE WAS SOFT DIRT AND THE LEFT SKID DUG INTO THE DIRT AND FLIPPED THE AIRCRAFT ON ITS NOSE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN ROLLED ON ITS RIGHT SIDE AND WAS CONSUMED BY A POST CRASH FIRE. THE PILOT ESCAPED WITHOUT INJURY.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN18LA334Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedFinal reportKindred, NDThe pilot’s failure to adequately inspect the lower coupling driveshaft during his preflight inspection and his non-compliance with an applicable airworthiness directive, which resulted in the failure of the forward drive splines of the lower coupling…Aug 16, 2018 · Destroyed

Other reports on N3625Z · 1

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

Accident 19921021043129APwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft · Grand Forks, NDPractice autorotations to hover. Elected to land. Skids touched alternately. Helicopter then rolled over.Oct 21, 1992 · Substantial damage