- Date
- March 30, 1991, 12:35 local (22:35 UTC)
- Place
- Honolulu, HI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8656FHughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910330008049A
- Case key
- 27154
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 instructor's improperly planned approach. A factor was the pilot's failure to observe performance data for the helicopter.
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 certificated flight instructor entered a normal practice autorotation. He noted rotor in the green, 55 KIAS, and the aircraft in trim. Just prior to the altitude where he would have begun a deceleration, about 50-100 feet AGL, he noted the airspeed had bled to about 20 KIAS and the aircraft had developed a high rate of descent. He attempted to perform a power recovery, but the aircraft continued to descend and landed hard. The tail rotor separated from the aircraft. The aircraft bounced back into the air. The aircraft again landed hard, then rolled over. According to the pilot's operating handbook, the altitude and airspeed where the pilot attempted a recovery was within a flight avoidance area, which prevented the pilot from performing remedial action.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8656F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1170645
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-01A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Hawaii International Hel.
- Registered owner
- Hawaii International Hel.
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,575 total · 712 in this make and model · 2,974 as pilot in command · 99 in the last 90 days · 43 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
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 N8656F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.