Summary
On February 17, 1996, a Hughes 269A (N8897F) was involved in an accident near Dallas, TX. The accident resulted in 1 serious injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: Failure of the unqualified helicopter pilot to maintain control of the helicopter. Factors relating to the accident were: his lack of total experience in helicopters and his improper decision to attempt to hover without appropriate training/endorsement for flight in the helicopter.
On February 16, 1996, at 2000 central standard time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N8897F, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control while hovering near Dallas, Texas. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the maintenance flight.
According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Addison Airport, they were contacted by the student pilot who advised them that "he was going to perform a maintenance run up, but remain in the same location." According to witnesses, the pilot lost control as the helicopter as it came to a hover. The helicopter landed hard, rolled over and came to rest on its side.
According to the pilot a new radio and transponder were installed in his newly purchased helicopter.
This accident is documented in NTSB report FTW96LA125. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N8897F.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
Failure of the unqualified helicopter pilot to maintain control of the helicopter. Factors relating to the accident were: his lack of total experience in helicopters and his improper decision to attempt to hover without appropriate training/endorsement for flight in the helicopter.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On February 16, 1996, at 2000 central standard time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N8897F, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control while hovering near Dallas, Texas. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the maintenance flight.
According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Addison Airport, they were contacted by the student pilot who advised them that "he was going to perform a maintenance run up, but remain in the same location." According to witnesses, the pilot lost control as the helicopter as it came to a hover. The helicopter landed hard, rolled over and came to rest on its side.
According to the pilot a new radio and transponder were installed in his newly purchased helicopter. The pilot stated that his intentions were to perform an operational check of the newly installed radios.
The pilot's logbook was found at the accident site. The logbook revealed that the student pilot had accumulated a total of 88.6 flight hours in single engine airplanes, of which 0.6 hours were solo. On the enclosed NTSB form 6120.1/2 the pilot states that he had accumulated 2.5 hours in the accident aircraft.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# FTW96LA125