N11047

On March 14, 2018, a Hughes 269 (N11047) was involved in an accident near San Antonio, TX. The accident resulted in 2 minor injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot’s decision to relinquish the helicopter flight controls to a non-rated passenger during a 3 ft hover.

The helicopter pilot reported that he allowed his non-rated passenger to "try his hovering skills" at 3ft AGL. The pilot told the passenger, "You have the aircraft" and the pilot removed his hands from the flight controls. The passenger pushed the cyclic to its forward limit, and the helicopter impacted the ground.

The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor and tail rotor drive systems, and the fuselage.

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

This accident is documented in NTSB report GAA18CA168. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N11047.