Schweizer 269C accident near Plymouth, Massachusetts, March 12, 2007
On March 12, 2007 at about 12:45 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 a hover, 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
- March 12, 2007 · about 12:45 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
During an instructional flight and while at a hover, the rotorcraft-rated private pilot initiated a clearing pedal turn to the right. After about a quarter turn, the helicopter "violently yawed to the right, and crashed," before the flight instructor could react. Examination of the helicopter revealed no mechanical anomalies. In addition, the flight instructor was involved in a similar accident with the same helicopter, but a different student, a month earlier.
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; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 310 hours in all; 240 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 256 as pilot in command; 110 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 940 hours in all; 38 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 940 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,139 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming HO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PYM Plymouth MA
- Destination: PMY
- 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 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.27 inHg
- Observation at 1:52 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.