# NTSB ERA24LA215: Hughes 369, N969VS, Crestview, FL, May 10, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: May 10, 2024, 15:25 local (20:25 UTC) - Place: Crestview, FL · East of the airport near the wind sock - Coordinates: 30.777641, -86.52027 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.7776&lon=-86.5203&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Emergency descent](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/600) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Autorotation: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 194239 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA215 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194239/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194239 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA215 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing and the main rotor blades contacting the tail boom. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=4470706), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=4470706), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Autorotation: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=4470706), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis On the day of the accident, the pilot had been practicing autorotations. The first was a power-on autorotation to the ground, followed by two hovering autorotations, all of which were uneventful. The pilot then briefed and set up for a power off autorotation to the ground. The entry began at 600 ft above ground level (agl) and the glide was normal. He set up a 70-knot glide speed and added collective to keep the rotor at 480 rpm. The helicopter was heavy with fuel and the added pilot-rated passenger, so the decent was faster than anticipated. The pilot reported that at 40 ft agl, he accomplished an “auto-rotative flare attitude” and that the “flare was not aggressive enough for the weight,” and as a result, he held the flare longer than usual. The ground speed bled off, but the leveling of the helicopter was not accomplished in a timely manner. The tail skid contacted the ground hard and the main rotor blades flexed down resulting in contact with the tail boom and the fuselage behind the rotor head. The helicopter’s tailboom and main rotor blades were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanic malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N969VS](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N969VS), registered now, S/N 1100833D, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: HUGHES 369 (D) - Registry model: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D](https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (registry code 4470706) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Allison 250-C20 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (registry code 03020, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 1100833D - Year built: 1980 - Airframe hours: 17976.8 - Engines: Rolls Royce 250-C20B 420 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Vertol Systems Co Inc - Registered owner: Vertol Systems Co Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, December 4, 2023, 14.2 hours before - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: CEW, Bob Sikes - Equipment: Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 61; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 20, 2023; seat: right; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 9,719 total, 219 in this make and model, 8,026 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 9 in the last 30 days - Pilot-rated passenger; age 64; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 25, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 10,790 total, 73 in this make and model, 8,628 as pilot in command, 18 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,400 ft broken - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 29.85 inHg - Observed at: CEW - METAR: KCEW 102053Z AUTO 23005KT 10SM SCT019 BKN024 BKN029 27/22 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP105 60000 T02670217 58011 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20240510005569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240510005569A), May 10, 2024: Hughes 369D, Crestview, FL, Substantial damage. While performing full autorotation to landing the tail skid struck the ground, and while leveling the aircraft and reducing the collective the main rotor… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 21, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194239. 6.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 5.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17137701&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA24LA215%20Pilot%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 71 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17162816&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA24LA215%20ROC%20with%20Pilot_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17137356&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA24LA215%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.