Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On October 2, 2024, about 1840, mountain daylight time, a Schweizer 296C helicopter, N656RB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Montrose, Colorado. The pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot stated that during an autorotation demonstration the helicopter had a complete loss of engine power. The pilot had set up the demonstration about 1,500 ft above ground level and about 60 knots indicated airspeed with hard packed gravel chosen for the touchdown point. The pilot stated that the engine rpm went to zero as soon as he rolled off the throttle to start the autorotation. He attempted to restart the engine with no success and conducted the autorotation to the predetermined touchdown area. During the ground run, the left skid collapsed and the helicopter rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor system, tail boom, and tail rotor system.
Discussions with the pilot revealed that he had recently purchased the helicopter and would operate it around Montrose, Colorado, at high elevation. Review of the rotorcraft flight manual revealed a required check of the idle mixture, idle speed, and fuel boost pump before the end of the last flight of the day. When interviewed, the pilot stated that he had never performed this check, did not witness the owner perform the check, and was not taught to perform the check during his initial flight training in the make and model helicopter 12 years earlier.
According to the helicopter manufacturer, in the Schweizer 269C, failure to perform the idle check can allow an improperly adjusted idle speed, throttle linkage, or air-fuel mixture setting to go undetected. Under those conditions, rolling the throttle to idle or a rapid power reduction—such as during a simulated autorotation—can result in the engine rpm decaying below sustainable idle limits, leading to a total loss of engine power.
The purpose of the idle check is to ensure that when the pilot rolls the throttle to the idle detent or rapidly reduces power the engine continues to operate at the prescribed idle speed without stalling or dropping below the minimum rpm. The check also verifies proper idle air-fuel mixture and confirms that the engine can accelerate smoothly back to operating rpm when power is reapplied. For those reasons, the manufacturer considers the procedure a mandatory operational verification item.
The helicopter’s maintenance logbooks were not made available for review. A loss of engine power during a demonstrated autorotation due to an improperly adjusted air-fuel mixture or idle setting. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to perform the required idle check during previous flights in higher elevation areas.