FTW02LA201

During initial climb, while climbing through an estimated altitude of approximately 200 feet above the ground, the engine "sputtered" a few times, and then cleared itself. After the engine "sputtered" a second time, the pilot initiated an autorotation with a 180-degree turn. The pilot added that during the turn, the airspeed decreased and he lowered the nose of the helicopter to attempt to regain the airspeed. The helicopter landed hard in a slight nose low attitude and slid for about 50 feet. The toes of the landing gear skids dug into the soft ground and the helicopter nosed over, coming to rest on its right side. No anomalies were found with the engine that could have prevented normal operation.

On July 7, 2002, at 1830 central daylight time, a Schweizer 269C-1 helicopter, N61439, was substantially damaged during a hard landing following a partial loss of engine power during initial climb from a private airstrip near Waco, Texas. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The helicopter was owned by the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation of Big Flats, New York, and was being operated by Heart of Texas Helicopters of Waco, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight for which no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from a grass airstrip operated by Heart of Texas Helicopters, at 1820.

In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to conduct a local orientation flight, which included demonstrating a quick-stop maneuver, a standard straight-in autorotation, and an autorotation with a 180-degree turn.

The pilot reported that after taking off to the south, during the initial climb, while climbing through an estimated altitude of approximately 200 feet above the ground, the engine "sputtered" a few times, and then cleared itself. After the engine "sputtered" a second time, the pilot initiated an autorotation with a 180-degree turn in an attempt to return to the runway.

The pilot added that during the turn, the airspeed decreased, and he lowered the nose of the helicopter in an attempt to regain the airspeed. The helicopter landed hard in a slight nose low attitude and slid for about 50 feet. The toes of the landing gear skids dug into the soft ground and the helicopter nosed over coming to rest on its right side. The pilot reported that he had accumulated over 1,500 hours, with approximately 600 hours in the same make and model helicopter.

An examination of the helicopter, by the operator and a representative of the airframe manufacturer, revealed two of the main rotor blades were separated from the head outboard of the root doublers. The other blade remained attached; however, it was severely bent down. All three main rotor blades showed evidence of ground contact. Flight control continuity was established to the rotor head and the tail rotor. The tailboom was separated from the airframe, with indications of blade strikes. The left landing gear was intact and remained attached. The right landing gear was fractured.

The fuel tank contained an undetermined amount of fuel. No discrepancies were found with the engine that would have prevented normal operations.

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