Schweizer 269D accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO, March 29, 2005
On March 29, 2005, a Schweizer 269D (helicopter), registered N4767, was destroyed in an accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inflight collision with the ocean for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 2005
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean, AO · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 269D · all 269Ds on the register
- Registration
- N4767 · registry record · serial 0037A
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident helicopter departed La Romana, the Dominican Republic, about 1850, on March 28, 2005, en route to Puerto Rico and it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 2030. On March 28, 2005, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue assets found debris floating in the Mona Passage, in the Atlantic Ocean, which the pilot's son later positively identified as belonging to his father. Records indicated that the accident pilot held an FAA private pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating. At his last application for an FAA third class medical certificate on August 10, 2004, he reported having accumulated 1,290 hours of total flight experience. He did not possess an instrument rating.
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: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,290 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 146 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 7, 2004
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20 SER (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDPC La Romana at 10:50 pm
- Destination: SIG San Juan PR
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 090° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.