Schweizer 300C N322MH

Summary

On 1 May 2013 at about 14:30 local time, a Schweizer 300C registered N322MH, operated by Choice Aviation, LLC, was involved in an accident near Hamilton, Montana, 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

1 May 2013 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Hamilton, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Ravalli County Airport (6S5)

Coordinates

46.2514, -114.1256

Aircraft

Schweizer 300C

Registration

N322MH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Choice Aviation, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hamilton → Hamilton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA253

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control during a practice autorotation and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that during an instructional flight, the helicopter was 500 feet above ground level when he rolled the throttle off with the intent for the student to respond by initiating a straight-in autorotation. The student pilot did not respond properly, so the instructor took the controls to initiate a power recovery. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, deforming both skids and substantially damaging the airframe. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.