Fairchild Hiller FH-1100 N5045F

Summary

On 27 September 1997 at about 16:00 local time, a Fairchild Hiller FH-1100 registered N5045F was involved in an accident near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 September 1997 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Pittsfield Muni (PSF)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Fairchild Hiller FH-1100

Registration

N5045F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD97FA123

1 person died.

The first pilot's improper procedures for an autorotation, and improper flare which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the second pilot's inadequate remedial action.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was attempting an autorotation, as part of a biennial flight review. He climbed the helicopter to 800 feet AGL, reduced the airspeed to 80 mph, lowered the collective, rolled off the throttle to split the needles, but the needles did not split. As he continued to roll off the throttle, he noticed the rpm's in the low green area, and the helicopter began to descend rapidly. Within 5 seconds, the helicopter descended, and landed hard against a bank rising from a swamp. A post accident investigation revealed the pilot's collective in the full up position. Control continuity was established from the pilot's collective and cyclic control, to the main rotor system. The left collective and left cyclic sustained impact damage. No pre-impact abnormalities were observed. The first pilot receiving the biennial reported over 499 hours of flight experience in this make and model, and used the helicopter in a scenic ride business. The second pilot had logged over 5,186 of total helicopter flight experience, including 4 hours in this make and model, which he logged 30 years ago. Since his biennial in a Cessna 150, he logged over 150 hours of helicopter time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.