- Date
- October 16, 2004, 12:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Diamond Head, MS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N119DMSchweizer 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20041016026379A
- Case key
- 60464
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 pilot's inadvertent loss of tail rotor effectiveness during takeoff to a hover and aborted landing in a grass area resulting in the grass catching fire from the engine exhaust and the helicopter being consumed by fire.
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 pilot stated that a few minutes after departure, he performed a precautionary off airport landing in cleared area in marsh section next to the bay, to correct a sticking floor push-to-talk microphone switch. The helicopter was shut down and pilot corrected the sticking microphone switch. The helicopter was started and as it took off to a hover it spun to the right. The pilot managed to land the helicopter in the marsh area. He shut down the helicopter; however, the grass caught fire from the heat of the engine exhaust system. The fire quickly spread, consuming the helicopter and a section of the marsh area before the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire.
Factual narrative
On October 16, 2004, about 1250 central daylight time, a Schweizer 269C, N119DM, registered to and operated by a private individual, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, caught fire during shutdown near Diamondhead Airport, Diamondhead, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot and one passenger received no injuries, and the helicopter was destroyed. The flight had originated 15 minutes earlier from the Diamondhead Airport.
The pilot stated that a few minutes after departure, he performed a precautionary off airport landing in cleared area in marsh section next to the bay, to correct a sticking floor push-to-talk microphone switch. The helicopter was shut down and pilot corrected the sticking microphone switch. The helicopter was started and as it took off to a hover it spun to the right. The pilot managed to land the helicopter in the marsh area. He shut down the helicopter; however, the grass caught fire from the heat of the engine exhaust system. The fire quickly spread, consuming the helicopter and a section of the marsh area before the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N119DM
- Reported as
- Schweizer 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- S1460
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard D. Richard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 66Y · Diamond, MS
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 1,825 total · 187 in this make and model · 94 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- HSA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.