On May 1, 2000, a Hughes 269C (registration N5395S) operated by Western Operations, Inc. was involved in an aviation accident near Rialto, CA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student's misjudged altitude and failure to maintain rotor rpm while practicing an autorotation, and, the instructor's delayed remedial corrective action and inadequate supervision of the flight. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A helicopter landed hard and rolled over during a practice autorotation. The student pilot did not take corrective action after the CFI called out low rotor rpm, resulting in a hard touchdown.
Incident Overview
A helicopter sustained a hard landing and rolled over while performing a practice autorotation. The flight was a dual instruction session with a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) providing training to a student who was a CFI candidate.
Sequence of Events
The student was handling all controls during the maneuver, which was intended to be a 180-degree full touchdown autorotation. During the descent, the CFI observed that the student had allowed the airspeed to decrease and main rotor rpm to become low. The CFI verbally alerted the student to the low rotor rpm situation. However, the student did not take decisive corrective action, such as initiating a power recovery in sufficient time to avoid the consequences. The autorotation continued with a low rotor rpm flare, resulting in a hard touchdown and subsequent rollover.
Mechanical Status
No mechanical malfunctions were identified after the incident.