Summary
On August 18, 2010, a Schweizer 269C-1 (N1542D) was involved in an incident near Titusville, FL. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of rotor rpm and a hard landing.
The flight instructor reported that during the helicopter instructional flight, hovering, straight-ahead, and 180-degree-turn autorotations were performed. The flight instructor's remedial actions typically included adjustment of pitch attitude to maintain the target airspeed, or collective adjustment to keep the rotor rpm in the normal operating range. During an autorotation with turn initiated by the student, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter but allowed the rotor rpm to decay below the lower limit. He adjusted collective and throttle, and initiated a decelerative flare to build rotor rpm, but the rotor rpm continued its decay.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA10CA432. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N1542D.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of rotor rpm and a hard landing.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that during the helicopter instructional flight, hovering, straight-ahead, and 180-degree-turn autorotations were performed. The flight instructor's remedial actions typically included adjustment of pitch attitude to maintain the target airspeed, or collective adjustment to keep the rotor rpm in the normal operating range. During an autorotation with turn initiated by the student, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter but allowed the rotor rpm to decay below the lower limit. He adjusted collective and throttle, and initiated a decelerative flare to build rotor rpm, but the rotor rpm continued its decay. The flight instructor was unable to arrest the helicopter's descent, and the helicopter impacted the ground on the back of the skids, pitched forward and rolled over, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tailboom, and both the main and tail rotor systems. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the helicopter.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA10CA432