Centennial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Englewood, Colorado 80112
Saturday, October 16, 2010 10:35 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was landing the helicopter in a field on his third solo landing of the day. During landing, the helicopter began to yaw and he added engine power in an attempt to correct. The helicopter began to spin and after two to three 360-degree rotations, the student pilot reduced collective input and reduced the engine throttle in an attempt to perform an autorotation from a hover. The helicopter landed hard and came to rest in an upright position. The helicopter’s fuselage sustained structural damage during the mishap. The student pilot reported no malfunctions or defects with the helicopter.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/16/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1035
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Englewood
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80112
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393356N
Event Location Longitude 1045020W
Event Location Airport Centennial Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID APA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5885
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID APA
Elevation of weather observation facility 5885
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 120
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.37
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KAPA 161653Z 36005KT 10SM FEW120 12/M01 A303
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27680
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 17 2010 2:20PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N20130
NTSB Number CEN11CA022
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 SCHWEIZER
Aircraft Model 269C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number S1786
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2670
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BEACON AVIATION LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 8
Aircraft Owner City MORRISON
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80465-0008
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Mountain One Helicopters
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Erie
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80516
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code APA
Departure City Englewood
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code APA
Destination City Englewood
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 10 2010 10:21AM
User who most recently changed record lebt
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --