- Date
- March 17, 1987, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- South Bend, IN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9522FHughes 269B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870317006279A
- Case key
- 13746
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
According to the plt, after departure from aurora municipal airport, he landed at an airfield west of elgin, Illinois and picked up the two passengers. The plt stated that he then departed for elkhart, Indiana. According to an Indiana state police aircraft accident report, while en route to elkhart, the plt observed an illuminated low fuel light and decided to make a precautionary landing in an open field, about three miles southwest of michiana regional airport, South Bend, Indiana. The report further states that the gas tank of the acft was found empty. According to the plt, 'substantial acft damage occurred during flare and subsequent hard landing.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9522F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 58-0364
- Airframe hours
- 7,000
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-AIA, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sportflight Helicopter, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Sportflight Helicopter Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 10, 1987 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- ARR · Aurora, IL
- Destination
- EKM · Elkhart, IN
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
- 21
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 127 total · 34 in this make and model · 64 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBN, 3 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.
Other investigations on N9522F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.