Schweizer 269C N891CP

Summary

On 21 June 2001 at about 21:40 local time, a Schweizer 269C registered N891CP was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, 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

21 June 2001 at 21:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Field (FFZ)

Coordinates

33.4500, -111.7167

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C

Registration

N891CP

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mesa → Mesa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA216

Nobody was injured.

a loss of power for unexplained reasons. Also causal was the CFI's operation of the helicopter in a region of the height/velocity curve where a successful autorotation could not be accomplished. A factor in the accident was the high density altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 200 feet agl the engine lost power and the CFI conducted an autorotation that resulted in a hard landing. An FAA inspector interviewed the pilot and reported that the engine failure occurred as the CFI was demonstrating a normal approach. The engine quit when the helicopter was at 200 feet agl and below 50 knots airspeed. The CFI entered an autorotation and the helicopter had a high rate of descent at touchdown. According to the height/velocity performance chart in the rotorcraft flight manual, at 200 feet agl the helicopter had to be above a speed of 50 knots in order to accomplish a successful autorotation. There were no mechanical anomalies found during a post accident engine test run.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.