Accident Schweizer 269C-1 N6148V,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 202190
 
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Date:Friday 30 April 1999
Time:09:17 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic H269 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Schweizer 269C-1
Owner/operator:Helicopter Adventures Inc.
Registration: N6148V
MSN: 0086
Year of manufacture:1998
Total airframe hrs:456 hours
Engine model:Lycoming HO-360-C1A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Concord, CA -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Training
Departure airport:(KCCR)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The flight instructor and student were practicing straight-in autorotations with power recoveries. During the first four autorotations, the student was the primary manipulator of the controls. The student was initiating the flare too high and so the instructor told the student that they would do the next approach together with both of them on the controls. During the flare portion of the ensuing autorotation, the stinger struck the runway surface. The tail rotor then contacted the surface and the helicopter yawed 360 degrees to the right and came to rest approximately 100 feet where the tail rotor struck the runway. The main rotor severed the tail boom. The instructor reported that he believed that the student misinterpreted his instructions to mean that he (the instructor) would be making the primary control inputs, whereas, he had intended for the student to make control inputs to initiate the flare. He planned just to follow through on the controls to guide the student to flare a little lower than on the previous attempts. The flight instructor stated that the accident could have been prevented through 'better communication between student and instructor as to who is responsible for initiating a control input during all phases of flight and especially during critical phases.'

Probable Cause: The inadequate supervision of the student pilot by the flight instructor during the practice autorotation, which resulted in a delayed flare and the tail rotor contacting the ground. A factor was a misinterpreted communication between the flight instructor and student.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: LAX99LA166
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 7 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB LAX99LA166

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
26-Nov-2017 12:43 ASN Update Bot Added
08-Apr-2024 06:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report]

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