Hughes 269A N10375

Summary

On 14 October 2011 at about 14:20 local time, a Hughes 269A registered N10375 was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas, 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

14 October 2011 at 14:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Worth Mecham Intl. Airpor (FTW)

Coordinates

32.8197, -97.3622

Aircraft

Hughes 269A

Registration

N10375

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Fort Worth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA031

Nobody was injured.

The inadvertent entry into ground resonance after a hovering autorotation.

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 receiving instruction were practicing hovering autorotations on a taxiway. With the skids on the ground for about 20 seconds after completing a hovering autorotation and with the engine at 2,000 rpm, the helicopter began to vibrate and violently shake, consistent with ground resonance. The vibrations and shaking continued to increase and lasted about 15 to 30 seconds. After the shaking stopped, the CFI shut down the helicopter. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the tail rotor and gearbox separated, and the fuselage was bent and deformed. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter were noted that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.