- Date
- June 24, 2001, 19:30 local (Jun 25, 2001, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Paso Robles, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8724FHughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010624015659A
- Case key
- 53351
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 maintain rotor rpm during a practice autorotational landing, which resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The single engine helicopter impacted the ground hard during an autorotational landing following a simulated loss of engine power. The flight instructor was simulating the loss of engine power to his student and noticed the rotor rpm was low when the helicopter was approximately 400 feet above the ground. The instructor ensured the collective was lowered all the way and placed the cyclic forward, but was unable to recover the rotor rpm. He flared the helicopter, but it landed hard resulting in the main rotor blades severing the tail boom.
Factual narrative
On June 24, 2001, approximately 1930 Pacific daylight time, a Hughes 269A single engine helicopter, N8724F, was substantially damaged during a hard landing following an autorotational landing at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, Paso Robles, California. The flight instructor sustained serious injuries and the student was not injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Del Rio Aviation, Paso Robles, under the provision of 14 CRR Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and a flight plan had not been filed. The local instructional flight originated about 1845.
According to the instructor pilot, he was demonstrating a simulated loss of engine power and ensuing autorotational landing to the student. He reduced the throttle and lowered the collective. He then pointed out an area to land to the student. As he looked back into the cockpit (approximately 400 feet agl), he noticed the rotor rpm had decreased "drastically" and was dropping even lower. The instructor then ensured the collective was lowered all the way and put the cyclic forward; however, he was unable to regain the lost rotor rpm in time. The instructor then flared the helicopter, but it impacted the ground hard. The main rotor blades severed the tail boom and the helicopter rolled over.
The flight instructor indicated he was not sure how the rotor rpm got so low, but commented there were no problems with the engine or the freewheeling unit. The instructor pilot reported having accumulated approximately 2,000 total hours in helicopters, of which about 300 hours were flown in the accident helicopter make and model.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8724F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 12-0039
- Engine
- Lycoming HO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Del Rio Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PRB · Paso Robles, CA
- Airport
- PRB · Paso Robles Municipal
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
- 61
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total · 300 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- PRB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N8724F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.