Hood River Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hood River, Oregon 97031
Friday, February 21, 1997 10:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot-in-command, a flight instructor, was conducting a demonstration flight to a prospective student. He executed a descending right turn out of a cyclic climb, during which he reported that he 'ran out of collective' and the helicopter impacted the terrain with the right rear skid. The pilot reported that he stopped in a hover, assessed the damage, and then hover taxied to a landing. Winds were calm at the time.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot-in-command's misjudgment of altitude and airspeed during a turn.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/21/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City HOOD RIVER
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97031
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HOOD RIVER
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4S2
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 631
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 948 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 84
Weather Observation Facility ID DLS
Elevation of weather observation facility 243
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 18000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 746
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 24 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:08PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5160N
NTSB Number SEA97LA065
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes
Aircraft Model 269C
Aircraft Series Identifier 269C
Aircraft Serial Number 1076
Certified Max Gross Weight 2050
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WEINSTEIN, BRIAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7250 SW BENZ PARK DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City PORTLAND
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97225
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SKYFIRE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1123 NW GRAHAM ROAD
Operator City TROUTDALE
Operator State OR
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 97060
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 4S2
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --