- Date
- September 17, 1987, 13:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Freemont, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1101KHughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 7, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870917053349A
- Case key
- 25691
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 purpose of the flt was to provide instruction to a foreign national, who held a U.S. Private helicopter rating. The instructor (CFI) rprtd that during a practice autorotation, he announced twice for the student to flare as the helicopter was passing thru about 50' AGL. The CFI then took control & initiated a pwr recovery. However, there was evidence the helicopter touched down in a nose high attitude & then the main rotor blades contacted the tail boom. The helicopter came to rest 138' from where it initially touched down.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1101K
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 311033
- Airframe hours
- 1,366
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Aris Helicopters Ltd
- Registered owner
- Stephen B. Sullivan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 26, 1987 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- SJC · San Jose, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- Q59 · Freemont, runway 31, 2,310 × ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 660 total · 304 in this make and model · 567 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 76 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.