- Date
- August 4, 2010, 11:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Baldwin, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6143KSchweizer 269C
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of tail rotor effectiveness
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100804042899A
- Case key
- 76858
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
A loss of tail rotor effectiveness during a hover.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot of the helicopter, during a mosquito breeding inspection flight he entered a hover about 2 feet above a field of tall vegetation and "within 10-15 seconds the nose of the aircraft began to yaw to the right." The pilot corrected with full left anti-torque pedal and attempted to "enter into translational lift" as the helicopter continued to rotate. The right skid contacted the ground and the helicopter rolled onto its side, sustaining substantial damage to the main rotor blades, fuselage, and skids. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions of the helicopter prior to the accident. He recommended that, "inspection during a cooler part of the day or with presence of wind, or inspecting while moving forward could have prevented the accident." About the time of the accident an airport weather station about 6 miles southeast of the accident site reported variable winds at 5 knots and a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, during a mosquito breeding inspection flight, he entered a hover about 2 feet above a field of tall vegetation, and "within 10-15 seconds the nose of the aircraft began to yaw to the right." The pilot corrected with full left anti-torque pedal and attempted to "enter into translational lift" as the helicopter continued to rotate. The right skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter rolled onto its side, sustaining substantial damage to the main rotor blades, fuselage, and skids. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions of the helicopter prior to the accident. He recommended that, "inspection during a cooler part of the day or with presence of wind, or inspecting while moving forward could have prevented the accident." About the time of the accident, an airport weather station about 6 miles southeast of the accident site reported winds variable at 5 knots and temperature 31 degrees C.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6143K
- Reported as
- Schweizer 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- S1750
- Airframe hours
- 1,513
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360 SER, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Public use
- Operator
- City of Jacksonville Mosquito Control
- Registered owner
- Horseshoe Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2009 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- FA41 · Jacksonville, FL
- Destination
- Baldwin, FL
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 23, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,099 total · 875 in this make and model · 3,743 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- VQQ, 6 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 5, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.