Oneida County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Utica, New York 13501
Wednesday, September 1, 1999 10:22 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot performed two uneventful quick stops. On the third quick stop, he lowered the collective 'too much with no forward motion' and the helicopter landed 'hard.' The helicopter's tail rotor contacted the taxiway and the aft portion of the helicopter's landing skid was pushed outward. Examination of the helicopter did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The pilot reported 20.6 hours of total flight experience in helicopters, all in the accident helicopter's make and model.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while maneuvering, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in this accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in helicopters.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/1/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1022
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City UTICA
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 13501
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ONEIDA COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID UCA
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 743
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1050 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID UCA
Elevation of weather observation facility 743
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 968
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 2 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N58397
NTSB Number NYC99LA217
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 1090933
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 79
Airframe Hours 3617
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HELICORP INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 451
Aircraft Owner City KEENE
Aircraft Owner State NH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 03431
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name RICHARD RABE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 6525 SMITH AVENUE
Operator City ROME
Operator State NY
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 13440
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City ORISKANY
Departure State NY
Departure Country
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code UCA
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 10:35AM
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 --