Schweizer 269C-1 accident near Titusville, Florida, August 18, 2010
On August 18, 2010 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Schweizer 269C-1 (helicopter), registered N1542D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Titusville, Florida (Space Coast Regional 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 instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of rotor rpm and a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 2010 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Titusville, Florida · Space Coast Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 269C-1 · all 269C-1s on the register
- Registration
- N1542D · no longer on the register · serial 0198
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that during the helicopter instructional flight, hovering, straight-ahead, and 180-degree-turn autorotations were performed. The flight instructor's remedial actions typically included adjustment of pitch attitude to maintain the target airspeed, or collective adjustment to keep the rotor rpm in the normal operating range. During an autorotation with turn initiated by the student, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter but allowed the rotor rpm to decay below the lower limit. He adjusted collective and throttle, and initiated a decelerative flare to build rotor rpm, but the rotor rpm continued its decay. The flight instructor was unable to arrest the helicopter's descent, and the helicopter impacted the ground on the back of the skids, pitched forward and rolled over, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tailboom, and both the main and tail rotor systems. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the helicopter.
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
- Autorotation Attempted remediation/recovery
- Autorotation Hard landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Prop/rotor parameters › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 502 hours in all; 458 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 53 hours in all; 53 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,854 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 29, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bristow Academy INC
The flight
- Departed from: KTIX Titusville FL at 12:40 pm
- Destination: KTIX Titusville FL
- Runway 18
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from KTIX, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.