Schweizer 269C accident near Plymouth, Massachusetts, February 1, 2007
On February 1, 2007 at about 1:00 pm local time, a Schweizer 269C (helicopter), registered N2074K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Plymouth, Massachusetts (Plymouth Municipal 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 student pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during landing, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 1, 2007 · about 1:00 pm local time
- Place
- Plymouth, Massachusetts · Plymouth Municipal Airport · 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
- N2074K · no longer on the register · serial 0136
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot successfully performed three autorotations to a hover; however, during the fourth, he "landed hard with a yaw to the left." The flight instructor was not able to correct the yaw, and the helicopter impacted the ground, damaging the tail boom. The accident was not reported until the flight instructor was involved in a similar accident, in the same helicopter, about 30 days later. No mechanical deficiencies were reported by the flight instructor or the student pilot.
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: instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 250 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 180 as pilot in command; 50 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,111 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PYM Plymouth MA
- Destination: PYM Plymouth MA
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 12:52 pm from PYM
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.
Other NTSB records under N2074K the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.