- Date
- February 20, 1987, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Jacksonville, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N90270Hughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870220036679A
- Case key
- 31857
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
The instructor plt was demonstrating a hovering autorotation landing with forward movement, when, after the throttle was closed, the helicopter hung in the air. Forward cyclic was then applied when he realized that the rotor RPM began to deteriorate. The helicopter then contacted the ground in a slight nose low attitude, after which, rear cyclic was applied. The main rotor blades then severed the tail boom due to the low rotor RPM and rear cyclic input. The helicopter spun aprx 90 degrees to the left & came to rest.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90270
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 66-18283
- Airframe hours
- 52,404
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-B1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Helicopter Services,Of Jack.
- Registered owner
- Diamond Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 19, 1986 · 37 hours before
- Airport
- CRG · Craig Municipal
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
- 26
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,506 total · 12 in this make and model · 144 as pilot in command · 158 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 50,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRG
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 N90270 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.