- Date
- April 12, 1986, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lowell, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8059HHughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860412012799A
- Case key
- 13447
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The pilot had just completed two autorotations when he landed hard on the third. The main rotor flexed down severing the tailboom and tailrotor. Although the pilot had logged over 6000 hours flight time, he had only 51 hours total rotorcraft time. He had received his commercial helicopter rating six month prior to the accident. He had logged 2.5 hours helicopter time in the previous 180 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8059H
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 36-0489
- Airframe hours
- 3,015
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C2D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Grand Rapids School Of Bible
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 1986
- Departed
- 24C · Lowell, MI
- Destination
- 24C · Lowell, MI
- Airport
- 24C · Lowell City, runway 36, 1,900 × ft, grass/turf
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 40 in this make and model · 6,082 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GRR, 9 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.