Hughes 269C accident near Bessemer, Alabama, March 24, 2002
On March 24, 2002 at about 11:25 pm local time, a Hughes 269C (helicopter), registered N7490F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bessemer, Alabama (Bessemer 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 failure of the flight instructor to adequately monitor the student's rotorcraft control, resulting in an abrupt cyclic input causing a tail rotor strike of the terrain while entering a hover, and the resulting rollover during an uncontrolled descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 24, 2002 · about 11:25 pm local time
- Place
- Bessemer, Alabama · Bessemer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 269C · all 269Cs on the register
- Registration
- N7490F · registry record · serial 570596
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the successful completion of one practice straight-in autorotation to the grass area between the runway and taxiway, terminating with a power-on three foot hover, the CFI asked the student to repeat the same maneuver. On the second attempt, the student over controlled aft cyclic and caused a tail rotor strike before the CFI could recognize and counter the student's abrupt control input. The rotorcraft entered an uncontrolled right yaw until the landing skid caught the terrain, and rolled over on its right side. The student and CFI evacuated the rotorcraft out the left door, unhurt.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,858 hours in all; 535 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,778 as pilot in command; 658 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 5, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 42 hours in all; 41 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,602.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 23, 2002; 5.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,050 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360 D1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EKY Bessemer AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 5,700 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from EET, 10 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.