Schweizer 269C accident near Diamond Head, Mississippi, October 16, 2004
On October 16, 2004 at about 5:50 pm local time, a Schweizer 269C (helicopter), registered N119DM, was destroyed in an accident near Diamond Head, Mississippi. It was a personal 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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent loss of tail rotor effectiveness during takeoff to a hover and aborted landing in a grass area resulting in the grass catching fire from the engine exhaust and the helicopter being consumed by fire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 16, 2004 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Diamond Head, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 269C · all 269Cs on the register
- Registration
- N119DM · registry record · serial S1460
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that a few minutes after departure, he performed a precautionary off airport landing in cleared area in marsh section next to the bay, to correct a sticking floor push-to-talk microphone switch. The helicopter was shut down and pilot corrected the sticking microphone switch. The helicopter was started and as it took off to a hover it spun to the right. The pilot managed to land the helicopter in the marsh area. He shut down the helicopter; however, the grass caught fire from the heat of the engine exhaust system. The fire quickly spread, consuming the helicopter and a section of the marsh area before the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,825 hours in all; 187 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-D1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 66Y Diamond MS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 12:57 pm from HSA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA05CA006.