Hughes 269C accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, August 25, 1985
On August 25, 1985 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Hughes 269C (helicopter), registered N9280F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky (Freeman Pk airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1985 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Freeman Pk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Hughes 269C · all 269Cs on the register
- Registration
- N9280F · no longer on the register · serial 540305
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKEOFF FROM OFF AIRPORT LANDING ZONE, THE ACFT ENCOUNTERED HEAVY RANINSHOWERS AND THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO THE LANDING ZONE. VISIBILITY WAS SUCH THAT THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE GROUND AND THE TAILROTOR CONTACTED A LAKE ADJACENT TO THE LANDING ZONE. THE HELICOPTER REPORTEDLY THEN SANK IN THE LAKE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,835 hours in all; 1,707 in this make and model; 57 in the last 90 days; 1,682 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,887 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 16, 1985; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-DIA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: LOU Louisville KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 2:15 pm from FTK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N9280F the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.