Hughes 369A accident near St Louis, Missouri, August 6, 2020
On August 6, 2020 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Hughes 369A (helicopter), registered N911EP, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near St Louis, Missouri (Spirit Of St Louis Airport). It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's failure to maintain helicopter control which resulted in a hard landing while preforming a practice autorotation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2020 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- St Louis, Missouri · Spirit Of St Louis Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369A No Series · all 369As on the register
- Registration
- N911EP · no longer on the register · serial 591176
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instructor reported that during the instructional flight, he was manipulating the controls and accepted the option to land on the taxiway; he decreased the throttle for a full touchdown auto rotation. About 50 ft above the ground (agl), he flared the helicopter and leveled off about 5 to 10 ft agl. The instructor reported that everything seemed "normal" at this point. He then raised the collective, but the descent was not arrested, so he raised the collective full up. The helicopter landed hard and shook violently. The instructor closed the throttle to which stopped the fuel supply. The tailboom was substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The instructor added that he felt a slight tailwind after exiting the helicopter and that the tail wind caused a "vortex ring state" which stalled the main rotor blades.
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
What happened, in order
- Hard landing during landing defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing
- Other weather encounter during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent rate › Capability exceeded
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Instructor/check pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,814 hours in all; 6,814 in this make and model; 6,338 as pilot in command; 2,278 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 635 hours in all; 91 in this make and model; 585 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 18, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,229.4 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 4, 2020
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls Royce 250-c20C (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: St Louis County Police Department
The flight
- Departed from: KSUS St Louis MO
- Destination: KSUS St Louis MO
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 7:54 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on October 9, 2020. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N911EP 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.