- Date
- April 17, 2005, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Whitefish, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7054CHughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050417005859A
- Case key
- 61330
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 student pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while hovering resulting in an in-flight collision with terrain. Gusting winds and the student pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions were contributing factors.
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 student pilot reported that he had just purchased this helicopter and had accumulated a total flight time of four hours in this make and model. Total flight time in all aircraft was reported as 41 hours. The student pilot stated that he was practicing hovering and hovering turns into a 'sporadic" north wind. The student pilot reported that he made a turn to the south, and "while doing so a gust of wind spun me to the east (loss of tail rotor effectiveness)." The right skid contacted the surface and the helicopter tipped to the right side. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On April 17, 2005, about 1600 mountain daylight time, a Hughes 269A, N7054C, registered to and flown by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided with the terrain following a loss of control while hovering over a field near Whitefish, Montana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from an off airport location near the pilot's residence.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he just purchased this helicopter and had accumulated a total flight time of four hours in this make and model. Total flight time in all aircraft was reported as 41 hours.
The pilot stated that he was practicing hovering and hovering turns into a "sporadic" north wind. The pilot reported that he made a turn to the south, and "while doing so a gust of wind spun me to the east (loss of tail rotor effectiveness)." The right skid contacted the surface and the helicopter tipped to the right side.
The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7054C
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 480831
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-B1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jayson C. Sandelin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Whitefish, MT
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 41 total · 4 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.