Hughes 369HS N9089F

Summary

On 7 January 1997 at about 19:10 local time, a Hughes 369HS registered N9089F was involved in an accident near Wellington, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 January 1997 at 19:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Wellington, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.6995, -105.0002

Aircraft

Hughes 369HS

Registration

N9089F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Collins → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA079

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft and his improper autorotation technique that induced the roll and subsequent ground collision. A factor was his lack of recurrent training.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said the helicopter wanted to 'spin to the left.' He made a precautionary landing, monitored the engine instruments, and performed some 'hover checks.' Finding nothing amiss, the pilot took off and climbed to 6,000 feet. He said aircraft control 'became more difficult' and he elected to land in an open field. When collective was applied, the helicopter rolled left and impacted the terrain. Wreckage examination disclosed no evidence of pre-existing malfunction/failure. A helicopter flight instructor, who helped the pilot ferry the helicopter from Florida to Colorado one month before the accident, said the pilot 'had no idea what he was doing. He was far behind the aircraft.' The instructor said the pilot habitually pressed left pedal and either flew in complete circles or flew in a shallow left skid. Autorotation demonstrations were equally poor, and the instructor told the pilot he 'needed a lot of work.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.