- Date
- March 2, 1990, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Vero Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N58275Hughes 300C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900302003509A
- Case key
- 32628
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 failure of the pilot in command/instructor pilot to maintain adequate rotor RPM after landing from a touchdown autorotation. A factor related to the accident was the gusty wind condition.
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 pilot and the rated helicopter pilot were practicing touchdown autorotations. After a landing and ground slide, they both noted vibrations, then shut down the engine and exited the helicopter. The main rotor blades had struck the tailboom and severed the tail rotor driveshaft. The wind at 1450 CST was from 140 deg at 16 gusting 22 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58275
- Reported as
- Hughes 300C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1190849
- Airframe hours
- 3,467
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-D1A, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Safety Int'L
- Registered owner
- Flight Safety International
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 25, 1990 · 73 hours before
- Departed
- VRB
- Destination
- VRB
- Airport
- VRB · Vero Beach, runway 11L, 3,504 × 75 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
- 22
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 327 in this make and model · 550 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 16 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB
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.