# NTSB FTW97LA021: Hughes 369D, N34CM, Watkins, CO, October 19, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 19, 1996, 13:45 local (19:45 UTC) - Place: Watkins, CO - Coordinates: 39.750587, -104.59909 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7506&lon=-104.5991&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 1, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 20097 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW97LA021 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/20097/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA021 ## Probable cause The flight instructor's improper decision to attempt a hovering autorotation during gusty wind conditions. A factor was the gusty wind. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Miscellaneous/other, landing - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - in-flight planning/decision - improper, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) ## Analysis The instructor was demonstrating autorotation techniques to his student. He stated at a speed of less than 10 knots, he entered a 'hovering auto(rotation)' to runway 17 from an altitude of 3 feet agl. He estimated the wind to be from 170 degrees at 12 to 15 knots. Recorded wind at Denver International Airport, located 10 miles northwest of the accident site, was from 290 degrees at 12 knots. The helicopter touched down and the main rotor blades struck the tail boom. The pilot said this was a 'fairly common occurrence' with this particular helicopter make and model operating under 'low rotor rpm and gusty wind.' A spokesman for the helicopter manufacturer said that if the helicopter had been landed upwind, the accident would not have occurred. He added that if gusty wind conditions were present, autorotation demonstrations should not have been attempted. ## Factual narrative On October 19, 1996, approximately 1345 mountain daylight time, a Hughes 369D, N34CM, was substantially damaged when its main rotor blades struck the tail boom while landing at Watkins, Colorado. The certified flight instructor and private pilot receiving instruction were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for this training flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The following is based on the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report. The instructor said he was demonstrating autorotation techniques to his student. He wrote, "During slow forward flight (less than 10 knots), hovering auto(rotation) was initiated at approximately 3 feet agl. Following a normal touch down, and deceleration, blades contacted tail boom." The instructor added, "Fairly common occurrence with 500 series helicopter under similar circumstances, i.e. low rotor rpm and gusty wind." According to a spokesman for the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company's Flight Safety Department, the accident is not a common occurrence. The spokesman said if the helicopter had landed upwind, the accident should not have occurred. He also stated that if gusty wind conditions were present, autorotation demonstrations should not have been performed. The pilot pilot said he landed on runway 17 and estimated the wind to be from 170 degrees at 12 to 15 knots. Recorded wind at Denver International Airport, located 10 miles northwest of Front Range Airport, was from 290 degrees at 12 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: N34CM (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Hughes 369D - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 1194D - Airframe hours: 5931 - Engines: Allison 250-C20B 375 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: James L. Dean - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 11, 1996, 40 hours before - Departed: APA, ENGLEWOOD, CO - Destination: FTG - Airport: FTG, Front Range, runway 17, 8,001 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 22; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: right; flight hours: 2,600 total, 100 in this make and model, 2,400 as pilot in command, 131 in the last 90 days, 39 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: DEN, 10 nm away ## 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 19961019033099A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961019033099A), Oct 19, 1996: Hughes 369D, Denver, CO, Substantial damage. Aircraft down and stopped on runway when strong wind gust caught blade causing it to hit boom. 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.