Westchester County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

White Plains, New York 10604
Saturday, December 28, 2013 8:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor (CFI) was demonstrating a 180-degree autorotation to a student pilot while performing an instructional flight. The CFI reported entering the autorotation when, at about 100 feet agl, the indicated airspeed suddenly dropped to about 40 knots. He pushed the cyclic forward in an attempt to regain airspeed and flared at about 50 feet agl in an attempt to slow down the helicopter's rate of descent. The helicopter landed on the edge of the runway on the back of the skids, bounced back into the air, and began an accelerated yaw to the right. According to the CFI, he lowered the collective and reduced throttle while the helicopter spun four or five times. The helicopter subsequently impacted the ground, and came to rest on its left side. A postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the cabin and the tail boom. The CFI reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent loss of control

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/28/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 830
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City White Plains
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 10604
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 410401N
Event Location Longitude 0734227W
Event Location Airport WESTCHESTER COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HPN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 235
Airport Elevation 439
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 856 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID HPN
Elevation of weather observation facility 439
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
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) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
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) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KHPN 281356Z 25005KT 10SM FEW100 03/M07 A301
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32274
NTSB Notification Source AEA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 21 2014 3:44PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2056J
NTSB Number ERA14CA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SCHWEIZER
Aircraft Model 269C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number S1820
Certified Max Gross Weight 2050
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 6 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 7504
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WINGS AIR LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WHITE PLAINS
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 106041310
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WINGS AIR LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WHITE PLAINS
Operator State NY
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 106041310
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code HPN
Departure City White Plains
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 730
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HPN
Destination City White Plains
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 21 2014 3:44PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29
Runway Length 4451
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --