- Date
- January 29, 2005, 11:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9688FHughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Denver, Colorado
- FAA report
- 20050129001539A
- Case key
- 60930
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 student pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter and the instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight. Contributing factors were low rotor rpm, low airspeed, and the instructor's delay in taking remedial action.
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 instructor and student pilot were practicing autorotations. The instructor demonstrated a "360 degree autorotation" and returned to an altitude of 600 feet agl. The student then executed the same maneuver. After he had turned approximately 270 degrees, the instructor noticed that the airspeed had dropped to 40 knots and a high rate of descent had developed. The instructor applied power and attempted to arrest the descent, but the helicopter made a hard landing on the right skid. The skid collapsed, all three rotor blade tips were bent, and the right side of the airframe was damaged as a result of the ground strike.
Factual narrative
On January 29, 2005, approximately 1135 mountain standard time, a Hughes 269C helicopter, N9688F, piloted by a commercial certificated flight instructor, was substantially damaged when it made a hard landing at Centennial Airport (APA), Englewood, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local instructional flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The flight instructor and student pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated at Centennial Airport approximately 1040.
The following is based on a telephone interview with, and written statement from, the flight instructor: The instructor and his student were practicing autorotations. The instructor demonstrated a "360 degree autorotation" to the student from an altitude of 600 feet agl with a power recovery. He then returned to an altitude of 600 feet agl, where he, "rolled off the throttle to initiate the maneuver [for the student]." The student lowered the collective and began a right turn. As he was completing the first 180 degrees of turn, the instructor noticed that the "rotor rpm was at the top of the green arc, so [he] applied collective to maintain rotor rpm." Approximately 270 degrees into the turn, rotor rpm had decayed and the instructor lowered the collective in an attempt to maintain rotor rpm. He then noticed that the airspeed had dropped to 40 knots and a high rate of descent had developed. The instructor applied power, then, rolled out of the turn and leveled the aircraft for a run-on landing. The instructor could not arrest the descent rate, and the helicopter touched down on the right skid. The skid collapsed and the helicopter skidded to a stop. All three main rotor blade tips were bent and the airframe was damaged on the right side as a result of the ground strike.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9688F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 320133
- Engine
- Lycoming H10-360-DIA, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Mile High Helicopter Company, doing business as Mile High Helicopter Company
- Registered owner
- Mile High Helicopter Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Destination
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Airport
- APA · Centennial Airport
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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 725 total · 179 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot
- Injuries
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- APA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.