Hughes 269C N58332

Summary

On 3 September 2007 at about 17:15 local time, a Hughes 269C registered N58332 was involved in an accident near Ramona, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 September 2007 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Ramona, California, United States

Coordinates

33.0392, -116.9150

Aircraft

Hughes 269C

Registration

N58332

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carlsbad → Carlsbad

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07CA267

1 person had minor injuries.

a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter landed hard during performance of a practice autorotation during the instructional flight. The certified flight instructor indicated that the engine lost power after the student initiated the autorotation about 800 feet above the designated dirt field, whereupon the instructor took the controls. The instructor misjudged the landing flare, the helicopter bounced, and it yawed left 90 degrees before coming to rest on its skids. The helicopter's tail boom was broken from the fuselage, and the main rotor blades were bent. Following the helicopter's recovery its engine was run up and the control system was examined. The engine and control system operated normally, and no evidence was found of any malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.