Accident Hughes 269B N9422F,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 278946
 
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Date:Wednesday 15 May 2019
Time:16:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic H269 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Hughes 269B
Owner/operator:
Registration: N9422F
MSN: 25-0162
Year of manufacture:1965
Total airframe hrs:5248 hours
Engine model:Lycoming HIO-360-A1A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Hampton, Georgia -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Hampton, GA
Destination airport:Hampton, GA
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
While hovering, the pilot attempted to set the helicopter down. During the transition from hover to landing, the pilot noticed a vibration in the helicopter. He decided to 'pull more power” in an attempt to regain a hover condition. When power was applied, the helicopter began to shake violently. He then 'rolled the power off and secured the landing.” The helicopter sustained substantial damage.

A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the four oleo landing struts were sufficiently extended; however, damage to the helicopter precluded measurement of the struts in the properly loaded condition. No maintenance was performed on the struts and no annotations about their condition were recorded during the most recent annual inspection.


Although the pilot did not initially report any anomalies with the engine, he subsequently stated that the engine had 'sputtered” during the hover and later reported that he had noticed a vibration and loss of power during the hover. He advised that he was a student helicopter pilot and was not completely familiar with the types of vibrations that were 'normal” versus those that were not, and he had discussed this with his instructor on previous flights. The examination of the engine revealed no evidence of pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

The investigation was unable to determine if the ground resonance was caused by improper maintenance of the oleo landing gear struts, the pilot's improper landing technique, or a combination of both.

Probable Cause: Ground resonance during landing for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA19LA173
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years and 10 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB ERA19LA173

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
05-Jun-2022 13:08 ASN Update Bot Added

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