Schweizer 269C N2056J

Summary

On 28 December 2013 at about 13:30 local time, a Schweizer 269C registered N2056J, operated by Wings Air LLC, was involved in an accident near White Plains, New York, 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

28 December 2013 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

White Plains, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Westchester County (HPN)

Coordinates

41.0669, -73.7075

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C

Registration

N2056J

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Wings Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

White Plains → White Plains

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14CA080

1 person had minor injuries.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent loss of control

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor (CFI) was demonstrating a 180-degree autorotation to a student pilot while performing an instructional flight. The CFI reported entering the autorotation when, at about 100 feet agl, the indicated airspeed suddenly dropped to about 40 knots. He pushed the cyclic forward in an attempt to regain airspeed and flared at about 50 feet agl in an attempt to slow down the helicopter's rate of descent. The helicopter landed on the edge of the runway on the back of the skids, bounced back into the air, and began an accelerated yaw to the right. According to the CFI, he lowered the collective and reduced throttle while the helicopter spun four or five times. The helicopter subsequently impacted the ground, and came to rest on its left side. A postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the cabin and the tail boom. The CFI reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.