FTW96LA125

Factual narrative

On February 16, 1996, at 2000 central standard time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N8897F, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control while hovering near Dallas, Texas. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the maintenance flight. According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Addison Airport, they were contacted by the student pilot who advised them that "he was going to perform a maintenance run up, but remain in the same location." According to witnesses, the pilot lost control as the helicopter as it came to a hover. The helicopter landed hard, rolled over and came to rest on its side. According to the pilot a new radio and transponder were installed in his newly purchased helicopter. The pilot stated that his intentions were to perform an operational check of the newly installed radios. The pilot's logbook was found at the accident site. The logbook revealed that the student pilot had accumulated a total of 88.6 flight hours in single engine airplanes, of which 0.6 hours were solo. On the enclosed NTSB form 6120.1/2 the pilot states that he had accumulated 2.5 hours in the accident aircraft. The owner of a newly purchased helicopter was a student pilot. He decided to make a maintenance run-up and to perform an operational check of the newly installed radios. The student stated that his intentions were to bring the helicopter into a hover, but remain in the same location. After lift-off, the student lost control of the helicopter. Subsequently, it touched down hard, rolled over, and came to rest on its side. According to his logbook, the student pilot/owner of the helicopter had accumulated a total of 88.6 hours in single engine airplanes, of which 0.6 hours were solo. He stated that he had accumulated 2.5 hours in the accident helicopter before the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12