Hughes 269 N269A

Summary

On 8 June 1996 at about 22:15 local time, a Hughes 269 registered N269A was involved in an accident near Dallas, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 June 1996 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Dallas, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Addison Airport (ADS)

Coordinates

32.9694, -96.8002

Aircraft

Hughes 269

Registration

N269A

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW96LA244

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's encounter with dynamic rollover while hovering. Factors were the prevailing high winds and the inadequate supervision provided by the flight instructor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, the training flight was planned to practice hover related maneuvers. The practice area was a smooth, flat, grassy area on the west side of the airport, between the control tower and the runway. With the instructor pilot monitoring the controls, the student pilot prepared to lift into a hover. The instructor pilot stated that, the helicopter was 'into the wind', the controls 'appeared to feel correct', and control inputs were 'slow, smooth, and deliberate'. The aircraft 'left the ground (not completely) right skid low' and began to roll to the right (the pilot stated that, he believed that the right skid did not break contact with the ground). Despite the instructors application of left lateral cyclic, the craft continued to roll to the right, resulting in the main rotor blades contacting the ground. Subsequently, the helicopter came to rest on its right side. The winds at the time of the accident were from 350 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 30.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.