- Date
- July 2, 2025, 18:25 local (23:25 UTC)
- Place
- Madisonville, KY · Airport ramp area
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N21385Schweizer 269C
- Defining event
- Landing: Ground resonance
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250702010909A
- Case key
- 200456
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 pilot’s failure to take the appropriate corrective action for ground resonance, which resulted in a loss of helicopter control.
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 student pilot reported that he hover taxied the helicopter to land on the ramp and executed a 180° pedal turn to face the center of the ramp. When the helicopter landed, he reduced the throttle to idle, and the helicopter began to shake. A flight instructor who was watching the landing from across the ramp communicated over the radio and via hand signals, telling the pilot to pick the helicopter up to a hover. The student pilot attempted to increase the throttle and increase collective to pick the helicopter back up to a hover, but the helicopter began to shake violently, and the student pilot reduced the collective but was unable to regain control. A review of a surveillance video provided by the operator revealed that the helicopter began to rock on its skids, rotated about 180°, and rolled over on its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, tail boom, and fuselage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21385
- Reported as
- Schweizer 269C (1)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0356
- Built
- 2009
- Airframe hours
- 5,790.2
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-G1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Madisonville Community College
- Registered owner
- US Aviation Training Solutions
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · June 9, 2025 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- 2I0 · Madisonville, KY
- Airport
- 2I0 · Madisonville regional Airport, runway 05/23, 6,051 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 24
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 38 total · 38 in this make and model · 9 as pilot in command · 0 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- OWB, 26 nm away
- METAR
- KOWB 022256Z 29005KT 10SM FEW050 BKN070 30/18 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP147 T03000183
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 14, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 47.0 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.