- Date
- September 11, 1986, 12:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Carlsbad, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N58323Hughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 10, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860911044499A
- Case key
- 25252
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 helicopter departed palomar airport (crq), Carlsbad, CA, on a local instructional flight and was the second flight for the dual student. After completing the flight lesson the student asked the CFI to demonstrate hovering. The CFI initiated an autorotation with a power-on recovery over batiquitos lagoon, a high, brush covered marshy swamp area. After recovering from the autorotation the instructor attempted forward flight and the skids contacted the high brush. The helicopter pitched downward and aft cyclic control could not arrest the downward moment. The main rotor blades contacted the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58323
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 790803
- Airframe hours
- 3,348
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Trails, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Theodore L. Vallas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 19, 1986 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- CRQ · Carlsbad, CA
- Airport
- CRQ · Palomar
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRQ, 4 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.
Other investigations on N58323 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.