Schweizer 269C 1 N2110J

Summary

On 21 January 2014 at about 21:45 local time, a Schweizer 269C 1 registered N2110J, operated by Bristow Academy, Inc., was involved in an accident near Titusville, Florida, 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

21 January 2014 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Titusville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Space Coast Regional (TIX)

Coordinates

28.5325, -80.9017

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C 1

Registration

N2110J

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2009

Engines

1

Operator

Bristow Academy, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Titusville → Titusville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA101

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s inadvertent side-loading of the left skid while demonstrating a running landing, which resulted in a bending overstress fracture of the left skid tube and a subsequent roll-over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight, the flight instructor successfully demonstrated one running landing to the student and then returned to the same area to demonstrate a second running landing. A few seconds after ground contact, the weight of the helicopter began to shift forward, which is typical, so the flight instructor slightly raised the collective. With the weight of the helicopter forward and about half of the forward speed dissipated, the helicopter suddenly pitched down and then rolled left. The flight instructor raised the collective slightly more in an attempt to reduce friction, but the helicopter continued rolling left, and the main rotor contacted the ground. Examination revealed that the left skid tube had fractured due to bending overstress and that the left skid toe had deflected inboard relative to the strut and remainder of the tube. It is likely that the fracture occurred during the running landing. Although the helicopter was equipped with two recording devices capable of retaining data, neither of the devices recorded and retained data for the accident sequence; therefore, the amount of g-loading that the helicopter sustained during the landing sequence could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.