Hughes 269A N8897F

Summary

On 1 June 2010 at about 00:15 local time, a Hughes 269A registered N8897F was involved in an accident near Cannon Falls, Minnesota, United States. One person was 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

1 June 2010 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Cannon Falls, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

44.4811, -92.7611

Aircraft

Hughes 269A

Registration

N8897F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cannon Falls → Cannon Falls

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA280

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain rotor speed during the autorotation, which resulted in an excessive sink rate and a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that shortly after liftoff he noticed a “disturbing vibration” in the helicopter. He elected to initiate an autorotation to an open agricultural field. The pilot stated that he executed a 180-degree turn in order to avoid a tree line. He noted that the rotor speed got too low and he was unable to reduce the sink rate, which resulted in a hard landing. The main rotor contacted and separated the tail boom and the right landing skid collapsed during the accident sequence. The pilot noted that additional practice in autorotation descents and landings might have prevented the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.