- Date
- March 30, 1989, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N58164Hughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890330005039A
- Case key
- 26500
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
Improper flare by the student pilot, and improper supervision by the instructor pilot (CFI).
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 instructor (CFI) rprtd that while practicing an autorotation, the student plt delayed in flaring the helicopter. It then touched down hard as the student applied excessive aft cyclic. Subsequently, the main rotor blades severed the tail boom.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58164
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 940348
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Heli Services
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 48
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,020 total · 1,560 in this make and model · 1,890 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N58164 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.