Sikorsky 269C N2091E

Summary

On 22 June 2013 at about 19:00 local time, a Sikorsky 269C registered N2091E, operated by Helicopter Flight Services, was involved in an accident near Lumberton, New Jersey, 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

22 June 2013 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lumberton, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Flying W Airport (N14)

Coordinates

39.9342, -74.8072

Aircraft

Sikorsky 269C

Registration

N2091E

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Helicopter Flight Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lumberton → Lumberton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA300

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's movement of the throttle to the idle detent at the beginning of a practice autorotation, which was contrary to procedures and resulted in the engine hesitating during the power recovery and a subsequent hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot initiated a practice autorotation about 951 feet above ground level (agl), rolled off the throttle to the idle detent, and maintained 60 knots during the descent until 50 feet agl, at which time, he flared the helicopter. At the end of the flare, when the helicopter was about 20 to 30 feet agl, the pilot lowered the nose to level the helicopter, began to increase the collective, and rolled on the throttle for a power recovery. The pilot reported that, subsequently, the engine sounded like it was "bogging down" and that the engine rpm was not increasing enough for the helicopter to continue to come to a hover. The helicopter continued to descend and contacted the runway hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical firewall. A postaccident engine run revealed no evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. According to the pilot's flight manual, when performing practice autorotations, the pilot should lower the collective while maintaining the throttle setting to prevent the engine from "loading up or stalling" during recovery. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot rolling the throttle to the idle detent at the beginning of the maneuver, which was contrary to procedures, resulted in the engine hesitating when power was applied for the recovery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.