Schweizer 269-C1 accident near Chesapeake, Virginia, June 3, 2000
On June 3, 2000 at about 1:50 pm local time, a Schweizer 269-C1 (helicopter), registered N721CB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chesapeake, Virginia (Hampton Roads airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of the student pilot to reduce the friction on the cyclic prior to raising the collective for the magneto check. A factor was the failure of the company to adequately define the steps in the checklist.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 3, 2000 · about 1:50 pm local time
- Place
- Chesapeake, Virginia · Hampton Roads · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 269-C1 · all 269-C1s on the register
- Registration
- N721CB · registry record · serial 0021
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was conducting a magneto check with a 90-degree gusty crosswind. As she raised the collective for the check, the helicopter started to wobble and then rolled over. The helicopter was parked on terrain that sloped away from the wind. The student pilot reported that she tried to move the cyclic into the wind to control the wobbling, but she had applied friction to the collective to the point that she could not move it while raising the collective for the magneto check. The FAA approved checklist called for the cyclic and collective frictions to be removed prior to the magneto check. The operator's checklist did not require the removal of the cyclic friction prior to magneto check. However, the operator reported that students were taught never to tighten the cyclic or friction to a degree that it could be moved if needed.
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: student
- Flight time: 20 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 722 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 30, 2000; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HO-360-C1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVG
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 9 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:20 pm from SFQ, 9 miles away
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.