Schweizer 269C N269P

Summary

On 24 May 2019 at about 20:45 local time, a Schweizer 269C registered N269P, operated by Western Helicopters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Riverside, California, 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

24 May 2019 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Riverside, California, United States

Nearest airport

Riverside Muni (RAL)

Coordinates

33.9519, -117.4450

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C

Registration

N269P

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1988

Engines

1

Operator

Western Helicopters, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Riverside → Riverside

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

GAA19CA284

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain yaw control and the engine's rpm during transition to a hover, which resulted in hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The day of the accident, the student pilot had flown three takeoffs and landings in the pattern with the instructor. After the third landing, the instructor exited the helicopter and authorized the student to perform her third flight solo. The student accomplished the before takeoff checks and increased the throttle, and as she increased the collective pitch, she felt an "abnormal vibration," but she decided to continue with the flight. She increased the collective and applied left pedal, and the helicopter ascended, but the nose yawed rapidly left. The student noted that the engine rpm had increased, and she lowered the collective. The left skid contacted the ground hard, followed by the right skid, and the student then decreased power, shut down the engine, and exited the helicopter. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the aft skid tube cross-member. The student reported that several mechanical malfunctions existed with the helicopter during previous flights. Although examination of the helicopter and the operator's maintenance logbooks revealed that there were maintenance deficiencies that were incorrectly annotated, postaccident examination revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. After the accident, the operator implemented a policy to document and clear all future maintenance discrepancies associated with helicopters in their fleet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.