Pilot Debrief

Schweizer 269C near Riverside, CA — 2019-05-24

Final reportGAA19CA284
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Date
2019-05-24
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
Airport
RAL
Aircraft
Schweizer 269C
Registration
N269P
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

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

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.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Student should have aborted the flight after feeling abnormal vibration.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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