Skip to content

ERA22LA180

2022-04-02 · Fort White, Florida, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N7057L

Make / Model
HUGHES 269A
Year of manufacture
1967 · 55 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING HIO-360 SER (205 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20020822
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A96A79

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The non-instrument-rated pilot’s decision to fly a visual flight rules only helicopter in instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a collision with trees and terrain.

Factual narrative

The weather when the non-instrument-rated helicopter pilot initiated the flight included a ceiling of 250 ft mean sea level (msl) and visibility of ½ mile, which corresponded to instrument meteorological conditions. After flying for 15 minutes, the helicopter “entered a wall of fog.” The pilot attempted to turn the helicopter around and return to an area of better visibility; however, the tail rotor impacted trees. The pilot did not realize that the helicopter was in a right turn and reduced engine power. The helicopter descended to ground in a bank, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tailboom, and rotor blades. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. According to the helicopter owner’s maintenance and flight manual, “instrument flight [is] prohibited.” Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Instrument flight capability-Related operating info
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Below VFR minima-Effect on operation
  • — Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total instrument experience-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA22LA180.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). All research papers