# NTSB SEA08LA035: Schweizer 269C, N61480, Newberg, OR, November 21, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 21, 2007, 10:10 local (18:10 UTC) - Place: Newberg, OR - Coordinates: 45.305557, -122.918052 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.3056&lon=-122.9181&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report April 30, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Schweizer Aircraft, Precision Airmotive, Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 67184 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA08LA035 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67184/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA08LA035 ## Probable cause The student pilot's inadvertent application of the fuel shut off valve during flight. Contributing to the accident were the locations of the heater and fuel shutoff controls. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - fuel system,fuel shutoff - activated (cause) - acft/equip,inadequate control location, owner/pilot mechanic (contributing factor) - fuel system - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - autorotation - initiated, pilot in command - Hard landing, emergency landing - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis The student pilot was initiating a cross-country flight. As the helicopter entered cruise flight, the student pilot intended to apply the cabin heater control; however, he inadvertently applied the fuel shut off control. Moments later, the engine lost power and the student pilot performed an autorotation and the helicopter landed hard. The student pilot had been training in two models of the same make of helicopter and heaters had been installed (supplemental type certificate) by the operator. The accident helicopter was flown from the left seat and the fuel shut off control was installed on the left side of the instrument panel, with the heater control on the far right side. The other helicopter was flown from the right seat with the fuel shut off control on the right side and the heater control to its left side. Pull-type knobs operate the heater and fuel shut off controls. The helicopter manufacturer offers the heater installation as an optional, after market installation, and its heater control is installed on the front of the center seat area and not on the instrument panel. The manufacturer's heater control is also operated using side-to-side motion for "ON" and "OFF" positions. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies was discovered. ## Factual narrative On November 21, 2007, at 1010 Pacific standard time, a Schweizer 269C helicopter, N61480, lost engine power during cruise flight approximately 7 miles east-southeast of the departure point of Chehalem Airpark, Newberg, Oregon. Precision Helicopters, Inc., the registered owner of the helicopter, was operating it under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. The helicopter was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that was destined for Aurora State Airport, Aurora, Oregon. The pilot departed from Newberg about 1000. The student pilot reported that he departed on a cross-country flight. As the helicopter was in cruise flight at 1,500 feet mean sea level, the student pilot applied the cabin heater and did not make any additional adjustments. The engine then sputtered twice and lost power. The student pilot attempted to restart the engine and then entered an autorotation. Upon impact with the ground, the student pilot blacked out. The student pilot stated that the fuel shut off control was located on the left side of the instrument panel, and that the heater control was located on the far right side of the instrument panel. The helicopter sustained structural damage to the airframe, cockpit, and tail boom. Initial on-scene documentation showed that the heater control was in the "IN" position, indicating that the heater was off. The fuel shut off control was in the "OUT" position, which cuts off fuel flow to the engine. The accident helicopter is flown from the left seat and the fuel shut off control is located on the left side of the panel, close to the pilot. The heater control, which was installed by Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), is located to the right of the fuel shut off control on the far right side of the panel. On the Schweizer 269C1 model (also operated by the operator), the pilot flies the helicopter from the right seat. Therefore, the fuel shut off control is on the right side of the panel. In the operator's Schweizer 269C1 model, the heater control had been installed to the left of the fuel shut off control, opposite to the Schweizer 269C model. The student pilot had flown both of these helicopters. Pull-type knobs operate the heater and fuel shut off controls. The operator had obtained an STC for installation of the heater in the 269C model, and was in the process of getting approval for the heater installation for the 269C1 model. Schweizer Aircraft Corporation offers an optional, after market heater installation. The heater control is installed on the front of the center seat area and not on the instrument panel. The control is operated using side-to-side motion for "ON" and "OFF" positions. No anomalies were noted with the airframe, engine, and components that would have resulted in a loss of engine power. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N61480](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N61480-2017-10-31), registration cancelled 2017-10-31, S/N S1765, built 1998 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Schweizer 269C - Registry model: [Schweizer 269C](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-269c) (registry code 8059502) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming HIO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-hio-360-series) (registry code 41524, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: S1765 - Airframe hours: 1309.4 - Engines: Textron Lycoming HIO-360-D1A 190 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Precision Helicopters - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 1, 2007 - Departed: 17S, Newberg, OR - Destination: 4S9, Portland-Mulino, OR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 25; injuries: serious; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review November 1, 2007; seat: left; flight hours: 31 total, 31 in this make and model, 7 as pilot in command, 31 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.40 inHg - Observed at: MMV, 8 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20071121827919A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20071121827919A), Nov 21, 2007: Hughes 269C, Newberg, OR, Destroyed. (-23) Student pilot reported that 5 minutes after departure from Newberg, Oregon, at 1500 ft MSL, enroute to aurora, Oregon, the engine made a strange sound… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.