Hughes 269A N271JB

Summary

On 16 December 1998 at about 02:10 local time, a Hughes 269A registered N271JB was involved in an accident near Hanceville, Alabama, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 December 1998 at 02:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Hanceville, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

34.0595, -86.7608

Aircraft

Hughes 269A

Registration

N271JB

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL99LA035

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Factors were a dark night and terrain condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the student pilot was flying the helicopter for the dark night takeoff. According to the flight instructor, shortly after climbing through 100 feet, the engine lost power. The flight instructor initiated an autorotation. During the touchdown phase of the autorotation, the helicopter collided with the ground. During the subsequent landing gyrations, the flight instructor stated that, a main rotor blade severed the tail boom, and the helicopter also rolled over. No mechanical problems with the helicopter were discovered during the subsequent post-impact examination. The engine assembly was removed from the airframe and installed in an engine test cell. During the functional test run the engine operated smoothly through all power ranges.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.