- Date
- August 20, 2002, 11:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Broomfield, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N7508LSchweizer 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20020820023469A
- Case key
- 55562
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
maintenance personnel's failure to secure the landing skid oleo strut bolt during the last 50-hour inspection, causing the left rear skid to collapse and the tail rotor to strike the ground.
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 student was practicing autorotations in preparation for taking his rotorcraft-helicopter practical flight test the following day. With his instructor on board, the student had successfully performed two "full down" autorotations. As he completed the third autorotation, they heard a loud noise and the helicopter settled toward the left rear, enough that the tail rotor struck the asphalt taxiway. Postaccident inspection disclosed that the bolt that attaches the left rear oleo strut to the crossbeam was missing. The tail rotor blades were damaged, the tail rotor driveshaft was twisted, and the splined end was separated from the main transmission. Maintenance records indicated the helicopter had accrued 5.1 hours since the last 50-hour inspection, at which time the landing gear struts had been overhauled and the skid shoes replaced.
Factual narrative
On August 20, 2002, approximately 1120 mountain daylight time, a Schweizer 269C, N7508L, operated by Rotors of the Rockies, was substantially damaged when the left rear landing skid collapsed during a practice autorotation at Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado. The commercial pilot receiving instruction and the commercial flight instructor were not injured. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Broomfield at an undetermined time.
According to the flight instructor's accident report, the student was practicing autorotations in preparation for taking his rotorcraft-helicopter practical flight test the following day. They had successfully performed two "full down" autorotations. As the student completed the third autorotation, they heard a loud noise and the helicopter settled toward the left rear, enough that the tail rotor struck the asphalt taxiway. Postaccident inspection disclosed that the bolt that attaches the left rear oleo strut to the crossbeam was missing. The tail rotor blades were damaged, the tail rotor driveshaft was twisted, and the splined end was separated from the main transmission. The skids and fuselage bottom were not damaged.
According to maintenance records, the helicopter had accrued 5.1 hours since the last 50-hour inspection, at which time the landing gear struts had been overhauled and the skid shoes replaced.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7508L
- Reported as
- Schweizer 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- S1417
- Airframe hours
- 5,598
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Rotors of the Rockies
- Registered owner
- Horton Cattle Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 16, 2002 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Destination
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Airport
- BJC · Jeffco
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 16, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,218 total · 707 in this make and model · 1,109 as pilot in command · 202 in the last 90 days · 83 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- January 14, 2002
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,827 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- BJC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.