# NTSB IAD05LA112: Schweizer 269C, N399HF, Mount Holly, NJ, July 31, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 31, 2005, 10:45 local (14:45 UTC) - Place: Mount Holly, NJ - Coordinates: 39.942779, -74.845558 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9428&lon=-74.8456&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report March 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 62087 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD05LA112 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62087/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD05LA112 ## Probable cause The flight instructor's delayed remedial action. A factor was the flight instructor's failure to ensure that both pilots knew who was performing the maneuver. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Miscellaneous/other, descent - procedures/directives - inadequate, pilot in command(cfi) (contributing factor) - Hard landing, descent - remedial action - delayed, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) ## Analysis Prior to the helicopter instructional flight, the flight instructor and the student pilot discussed a loss of engine power during takeoff. The student pilot, who had not previously performed the maneuver, thought the flight instructor was going to demonstrate it. During the flight, while the helicopter was climbing through 400-500 feet, the flight instructor advised the student of the pending simulated engine failure, and "rolled down" the throttle. The helicopter commenced an autorotation, with the flight instructor thinking the student pilot was at the controls, and the student pilot thinking the flight instructor was at the controls. During the autorotation, when the helicopter appeared to be headed for some trees, "the collective was raised to extend the glide, but the rotor rpm was decreasing and the forward airspeed had slowed also." The helicopter cleared the trees, but at 60 feet above the ground, the rotor rpm was below the power off range. The flight instructor then "got on the controls, lowered the collective, rolled on the throttle, and flared the helicopter." The helicopter continued its descent, the tail hit the ground, and the helicopter impacted the ground in a level attitude, then rolled over. ## Factual narrative On July 31, 2005, about 1045 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer 269C, N399HF, was substantially damaged during a training maneuver at South Jersey Regional Airport (VAY), Mount Holly, New Jersey. The certificated flight instructor and student pilot incurred minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight, which originated at the airport. The instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the flight instructor, they had been flying for about 45 minutes when "the student was informed that we were doing forced landings." During the takeoff climb, about 500 feet, the flight instructor rolled down the throttle, and the student entered an autorotation. "The glide was good," but the helicopter headed toward a line of trees, so the student turned it to the right, toward an open field. "The collective was raised to extend our glide, but the rotor rpm was decreasing and the forward airspeed had slowed also." The helicopter cleared the trees, but "at this point, the rotor rpm was below the power off range [and] the helicopter was approximately 60 feet agl." The flight instructor then "got on the controls, lowered the collective, rolled on the throttle, and flared the helicopter." The helicopter continued its descent, the tail hit the ground, and the helicopter subsequently impacted the ground in a level attitude, then rolled over. According to the student pilot, before the flight, he and the instructor were discussing his upcoming "check ride." They discussed an engine failure during takeoff, which the student pilot had not previously practiced, and the flight instructor advised him that he would demonstrate it. Before the maneuver occurred, the student pilot was at the controls, and when he had last noticed, the helicopter was headed straight, about 250 feet msl, and 30 knots of airspeed. The helicopter was climbing, and the flight instructor stated that he was "cutting the throttle." At the time, the student thought that the instructor was going to demonstrate the maneuver. After the throttle cut, at what the student estimated was then 350 to 400 feet msl, the helicopter started "descending at a very steep rate." The student pilot thought they were going to hit some trees, so he advised the instructor, "and he did not immediately react." About 2 seconds later, the instructor stated "oh", and the student pilot "noticed [that] he tried to miss the trees and glide forward, and all I could see was our aircraft descending into the ground." The student pilot also stated that the flight instructor had the controls during the maneuver, and that the student pilot was not in control of the helicopter when the throttle was cut. The flight instructor "never explained where we were going to land on this maneuver or where it was going was going to take place. All [he] said was that he was going to show me how the maneuver was performed." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N399HF](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N399HF-2006-08-08), registration cancelled 2006-08-08, S/N 0176, built 2004 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Schweizer 269C - Registry model: [Schweizer 269C-1](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-269c-1) (registry code 8059504) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming HO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ho-360-series) (registry code 41513, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 0176 - Airframe hours: 8166 - Engines: Lycoming HIO-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Herlihy Helicopters, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 1, 2005, 45 hours before - Departed: VAY, Mount Holly, NJ - Airport: VAY, South Jersey Regional, runway 8, 3,911 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 28; injuries: minor; commercial, flight instructor; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2; last flight review February 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 1,380 total, 1,302 in this make and model, 1,332 as pilot in command, 178 in the last 90 days, 49 in the last 30 days - Student pilot; age 57; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 2; seat: right; flight hours: 95 total, 95 in this make and model, 47 in the last 90 days, 25 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 80° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 30.20 inHg - Observed at: VAY ## 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 20050731024199A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050731024199A), Jul 31, 2005: Hughes 269C1, Mount Holly, NJ, Substantial damage. (-23) On July 31, 2005, at 10:40 am, a HU-269C-1, N399HF, s/n 0176, operating under 14 CFR part 91 VFR flight rules, struck the ground in a field approx. 1/4… 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.