Hughes 269A-1 N8942F
27 March 2002 · Fort Collins, Colorado, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 March 2002 at about 19:05 local time, a Hughes 269A-1 registered N8942F was involved in an accident near Fort Collins, Colorado, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 19:05
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
- Nearest airport
- Fort Collins Downtown Airport (3V5)
- Coordinates
- 40.5883, -105.0342
- Aircraft
- Hughes 269A-1
- Registration
- N8942F
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Fort Collins → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW02LA104
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
the flight instructor's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while hovering. Contributing factors were the tailwind and gusty wind conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
On takeoff during the instructional flight, the wind was variable at 2 to 3 knots. As the student was hovering the helicopter at approximately 3 feet agl, a sudden gust of wind caused the helicopter to "wobble." The instructor took control of the aircraft, and another wind gust turned the helicopter downwind. The instructor attempted to land. However, the wind continued to drive the helicopter forward with an excessive nose low attitude. With the tail rotor into the wind, creating a "high power demand and limited tail rotor authority," the helicopter "skipped" along the dirt 2 or 3 times, the right strut failed, and the aircraft to rolled over on its right side. The flight instructor reported the wind was gusting to 60 knots. The reported wind at a location 8 miles south of the accident site was 260 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 25 knots.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Hughes 269 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Mar 2002 | Hughes 269C | Bessemer, Alabama, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2002 | Hughes 269A | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 19 Feb 2002 | Hughes 269C | Lorain, Ohio, United States | Hurst Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 1 Nov 2002 | Hughes 269A | Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 Aug 2002 | Hughes 269C | Dannevirke, New Zealand | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 10 Aug 2002 | Hughes 269A | Covington, Washington, United States | Charles Douglas | No injuries | - |
All 1,213 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jun 2002 | Beechcraft 58P | Grand Junction, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Aug 2002 | Cessna 310N | Grand Junction, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Jan 2002 | Piper PA-23-250 | Pagosa Springs, Colorado, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 4 Nov 2002 | Mooney M20E | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Jan 2002 | McDonnell Douglas MD 902 | Aurora, Colorado, United States | MD Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jan 2002 | Maule M-5-235C | Grand Junction, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |