No fatalities

24 Jul 2019: Hughes 269A No Series — Springfield, TN

Springfield, TN, United States

On 24 Jul 2019, a Hughes 269A No Series was involved in an aviation accident near Springfield, TN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control and a loss of tail rotor effectiveness while hover-taxiing and turning toward a taxiway in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in a dynamic rollover. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

After landing, a helicopter hover taxiing right turned uncontrollably, drifted off taxiway, and slid into a drainage ditch. The main rotor blades struck a berm, and the helicopter came to rest on its side, sustaining substantial fuselage damage.

Incident Details

The helicopter pilot reported that after landing, while hover taxiing and turning right onto the taxiway, the helicopter continued its right turn and drifted off the taxiway. He applied full left pedal to no avail, so he closed the throttle to perform an autorotation to decrease the speed of rotation, also to no avail. He added collective to reduce the rate of descent, but the helicopter landed and slid into a drainage ditch, the main rotor blades impacted a berm near the taxiway, and the helicopter came to rest on its side against the berm.

Damage

The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.

Pilot Report

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported the wind was from 320° at 11 knots, gusting to 16 knots. The pilot landed the helicopter on runway 04 and was turning to the right.

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotPerformance/control parameters — Not attained/maintainedProp/rotor parameters — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Effect on operation