- Date
- July 31, 1992, 11:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place
- Honolulu, HI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N64MKHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920731028639A
- Case key
- 27712
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 student's improper use of the flight controls during an attempted recovery from an over rotation during the flare, and, the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.
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
According to the statements by both pilots, the purpose of the flight was to check out a new flight instructor on the helicopter type. While practicing an auto rotation to touchdown, the new flight instructor over rotated during the flare and scraped the tail skid on the pavement. In his statement, the new flight instructor said he then pulled up on the collective and the helicopter ballooned upward to about 15 feet AGL. The main rotor speed was low, and, as a result, the helicopter landed hard. The main rotor then flexed downward and severed the tail boom. The flight instructor who was checking out the new pilot said he had his hands on the controls during the maneuver but was 'unable to correct for the unexpected input by [the student]' in time to prevent the balloon and the subsequent hard landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64MK
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 890565D
- Airframe hours
- 7,415
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Pce, Ltd., doing business as Makani Kai
- Registered owner
- Pce, Ltd.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 10, 1992 · 10 hours before
- Airport
- HNL · Honolulu International, runway 8, 12,300 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- Left
- Flight hours
- 871 total · 145 in this make and model · 819 as pilot in command · 183 in the last 90 days · 56 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °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.