- Date
- February 12, 1986, 09:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Vero Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N58275Hughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860212002639A
- Case key
- 31574
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During auto-rotation practice, the CFI passed control of the helicopter to the student plt. At aprx 10 ft above the ground, the CFI attempted to apply corrective action when it became apparent that the acft was going to make a hard landing. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the tail rotor struck the ground. The CFI stated that perhaps he had waited a little too long before attempting to reassume control of the acft from the student plt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58275
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1190849
- Airframe hours
- 1,576
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Safety International
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · February 4, 1986 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- VRB · Vero Beach, FL
- Airport
- VRB · Vero Beach, runway 29, 2,650 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,302 total · 86 in this make and model · 1,898 as pilot in command · 113 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 1 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 N58275 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.