Schweizer 269C-1 N323CP

Summary

On 10 September 2006 at about 00:30 local time, a Schweizer 269C-1 registered N323CP was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 September 2006 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Van Nuys, California, United States

Nearest airport

Van Nuys (VNY)

Coordinates

34.2097, -118.3400

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C-1

Registration

N323CP

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Nuys → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA290

Nobody was injured.

Inadequate maintenance adjustment and missing mixture spring, which resulted in a loss of engine power during approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI) and pilot under instruction (PUI) were going to perform a practice autorotation onto the taxiway. The airspeed was 65 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), the manifold pressure was 21-23 inches, and the altitude was about 500 feet above ground level (agl). Shortly after initiating the maneuver, the low voltage warning light illuminated. They scanned the operating gauges and tachometer, which indicated a loss of engine power. The CFI took control; the helicopter landed hard, and the tail boom separated. Post accident examination revealed that the engine would run rough at idle with full mixture applied. The engine produced 2,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) with the mixture leaned. Examination of the fuel servo revealed no anomaly other than the idle spring missing from the mixture link, and that the idle was out of adjustment. Initial flow test results were out of limits in the idle range, but satisfactory at maximum throttle. With proper adjustment of the idle link, test results were within specified limits in all ranges. The purpose of the idle mixture spring is to control the movement of the mixture adjustment. If this spring is not installed, the mixture setting can vibrate to higher or lower settings. Maintenance records indicated that maintenance personnel had recently made an adjustment to the idle setting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.