Schweizer 300 CBI accident near Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 13, 2007
On September 13, 2007 at about 8:58 pm local time, a Schweizer 300 CBI (helicopter), registered N269HB, was destroyed in an accident near Minneapolis, Minnesota (Air Lake Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 dual student's improper flare during the simulated autorotation, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 13, 2007 · about 8:58 pm local time
- Place
- Minneapolis, Minnesota · Air Lake Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 300 CBI
- Registration
- N269HB · no longer on the register · serial 0166
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter was damaged during an attempted simulated autorotation with power recovery. The flight instructor and the student pilot were on an instructional flight to practice straight and level, normal approaches and simulated forced landings. The instructor reported that the student completed two successful approaches and one successful autorotation with power recovery. The instructor stated that on the last autorotation the student maintained speed and initiated the flare and held it until the instructor felt the aircraft was too low to hold. The instructor reported taking the controls and pushing the cyclic forward at the same time as the student pilot began to push forward. The instructor reported feeling the impact of the tail rotor and boom, then the aircraft yawed to the right. The instructor stated that the throttle was already closed to idle so the instructor "held the cyclic for a level attitude and prepared to cushion the landing with the collective. [The helicopter] spun around approximately another 390 degrees to the right before the helicopter impacted the runway on the skids collapsing the left side of the landing gear."
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 703 hours in all; 666 in this make and model; 239 in the last 90 days; 95 in the last 30 days; 631 as pilot in command; 233 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 103 hours in all; 80 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 48 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,177.7 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-GIA (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hummingbird Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: KFCM Minneapolis MN
- Destination: KLVN Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 4,098 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 15 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 7:54 pm from KFCM, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.