2006 Berne-Belp Schweizer 300C accident (HB-ZHU)

Overview and basic information On 21 September 2006, a Schweizer Aircraft Corp. 300C, model 269C, registered HB-ZHU, was destroyed in an accident at Berne-Belp Airport. The aircraft was operated by Heliswiss, based at Aéroport de Bern-Belpmoos, 3123 Belp. The pilot, a Swiss citizen born in 1952, was the only person on board. The flight was a VFR private flight in the approach phase. The pilot sustained a serious injury, and there were no fatalities. ## Flight details The pilot took off from Berne-Belp at 12:25 LT, climbed to 3,500 ft, and conducted a series of maneuvers including simulated autorotations and low-level exercises near a field northeast of Fribourg. At approximately 12:50 LT, the pilot decided to return to Berne and perform one more autorotation. The pilot requested and was granted permission to land in the heli-square before taxiing to Heliswiss. ## Accident sequence After initiating the autorotation, the pilot found the resulting descent angle would not reach the heli-square and made corrections. In the final approach, the helicopter turned left toward the landing area. The pilot noted low speed and lowered the nose to regain speed. During a pre-flare and power-recovery maneuver, the pilot perceived the speed as too low and attempted to abort the approach by increasing engine power and pulling the collective. The helicopter struck the ground at a high rate of descent, first with the antitorque rotor, then with both skids, and rebounded several times. The cabin tilted forward, the antitorque rotor detached, and the helicopter pivoted before falling backward onto the fuel tanks, engine, and main rotor mast. All main rotor blades detached. ## Investigation findings The investigation concluded that the accident resulted from a loss of control of the helicopter during a solo training autorotation. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of training on the accident type and the pilot's health impairment. The pilot had not flown the Schweizer 269C for more than 90 days before the accident and had not received the requested training credit for that model in 2006.