- Date
- May 11, 1989, 08:20 local (13:20 UTC)
- Place
- Ozark, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9049JHughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890511013039A
- Case key
- 8027
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's excessive use of the cyclic control and the misjudged flare during a practice touchdown autorotation.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During helicopter instructional flt a straight-in touchdown autorotation was attempted. The plt said witnesses observed the tail boom come up into the tip path plane. That event usually occurs when touch down is made on the heel of the skids & the main rotor is still pitched aft because of cylic input for the landing flare. As the helicopter rocks forward after the hard landing on the skid heel, the tail boom will be severed by the displaced main rotor. Following the tail boom separation the helicopter rotated about 120 degrees to the left.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9049J
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 75-0345
- Airframe hours
- 5,116
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Alabama Avi. & Tech. College
- Registered owner
- Alabama Aviat. & Tech. College
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 14, 1989 · 141 hours before
- Airport
- 71J · Blackwell Field, runway 30, 4,200 × 80 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,761 total · 299 in this make and model · 9,431 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 37 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DHN, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.