- Date
- August 14, 1992, 11:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Corona, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9297FHughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920814031929A
- Case key
- 27735
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 flight instructor's improper supervision of the flight; the dual student pilot's failure to use carburetor heat; and the flight instructor's improper use of the tail rotor pedals. Contributing to this accident was the engine failure due to carburetor icing.
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 dual student pilot was performing practice autorotations at reduced engine RPM without the use of carburetor heat. On the fourth autorotation the engine sustained a total loss of power. The CFI assumed the controls and continued with the autorotation. When the helicopter was between 7 to 10 feet above the ground the CFI applied up collective without correcting for the increased torque (rotor pitch increase). The helicopter made an abrupt left turn and landed hard causing damage to the skids and tail boom assembly. The engine operated normally when the helicopter was recovered from the accident site. The prevailing temperature was 94 degrees f and the dew point was 63 degrees f. according to the FAA icing probability chart the carburetor was susceptible to carburetor icing at glide power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9297F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 350408
- Airframe hours
- 4,260
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Hiser Helicopter, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Hiser Helicopter, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 29, 1992 · 26 hours before
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
- 39
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 960 total · 51 in this make and model · 850 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ONT, 10 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 N9297F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.