No fatalities

16 Oct 2010: SCHWEIZER 269C — Mountain One Helicopters — Englewood, CO

Englewood, CO, United States

On 16 Oct 2010, a SCHWEIZER 269C operated by Mountain One Helicopters was involved in an aviation accident near Englewood, CO. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter during landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 14 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A student pilot with four solo hours encountered a yaw and spin during a solo landing in a single-engine helicopter, resulting in a hard landing and structural damage to the fuselage.

Incident Overview

A student pilot, who had accumulated approximately four hours of solo flight time, was landing a single-engine helicopter in a field during his third solo landing of the day. As the helicopter touched down, it began to yaw. In an attempt to correct the yaw, the student pilot added engine power, which caused the helicopter to start spinning. The helicopter completed two to three 360-degree rotations before the student pilot reduced collective input and rolled off the engine throttle in an effort to perform a hovering auto landing.

Landing and Aftermath

The helicopter landed hard and came to rest in an upright position. The student pilot then shut down the helicopter and was able to exit without assistance. The fuselage of the helicopter sustained structural damage during the mishap. No malfunctions or defects with the helicopter's controls or other systems were reported.

Pilot Experience

The student pilot had limited solo flight experience at the time of the incident, with only about four hours of solo time. The landing was the third solo landing of the day for the pilot.

Contributing factors

Student pilotDirectional control — Not attained/maintained