- Date
- August 18, 2010, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Titusville, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N1542DSchweizer 269C-1
- Defining event
- Autorotation: Hard landing
- 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
- 20100818045149A
- Case key
- 77006
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 instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of rotor rpm and a hard landing.
Findings · 2
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
The flight instructor reported that during the helicopter instructional flight, hovering, straight-ahead, and 180-degree-turn autorotations were performed. The flight instructor's remedial actions typically included adjustment of pitch attitude to maintain the target airspeed, or collective adjustment to keep the rotor rpm in the normal operating range. During an autorotation with turn initiated by the student, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter but allowed the rotor rpm to decay below the lower limit. He adjusted collective and throttle, and initiated a decelerative flare to build rotor rpm, but the rotor rpm continued its decay. The flight instructor was unable to arrest the helicopter's descent, and the helicopter impacted the ground on the back of the skids, pitched forward and rolled over, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tailboom, and both the main and tail rotor systems. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the helicopter.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor reported that during the helicopter instructional flight, hovering, straight-ahead, and 180-degree-turn autorotations were performed. The flight instructor's remedial actions typically included adjustment of pitch attitude to maintain the target airspeed, or collective adjustment to keep the rotor rpm in the normal operating range. During an autorotation with turn initiated by the student, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter but allowed the rotor rpm to decay below the lower limit. He adjusted collective and throttle, and initiated a decelerative flare to build rotor rpm, but the rotor rpm continued its decay. The flight instructor was unable to arrest the helicopter's descent, and the helicopter impacted the ground on the back of the skids, pitched forward and rolled over, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tailboom, and both the main and tail rotor systems. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1542D
- Reported as
- Schweizer 269C-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0198
- Airframe hours
- 3,854
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360 SER, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Bristow Academy Inc
- Registered owner
- Bristow Academy Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 29, 2010
- Departed
- KTIX · Titusville, FL
- Destination
- KTIX · Titusville, FL
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- KTIX · Space Coast Regional Airport, runway 18, 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 502 total · 458 in this make and model
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 53 total · 53 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KTIX, 5 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 5, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.9 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.