Schweizer RSG (Hughes, Schweizer, Sikorsky) · Helicopter
Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300
Is the Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300 safe? It ranks #12 of 16 helicopters we rate, with 12 fatal accidents counted in about 2.2 million US flights since 2008.
Likely range 44 to 56
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 12 in 2.2 million flights
5.5 fatal accidents per million flights. Counted: all civil flights in the United States since 2008 (private, charter, air ambulance, utility, training and other), accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: accidents outside the United States or before 2008, military, test and illegal flights, sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 11
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 2.2 million
Estimated flights of all kinds in the United States since 2008. Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston helicopters in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 422 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.87, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 0.67 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 218 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±20%.
- Technology generation
- Piston helicopter
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 5.2 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 16.1 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 79%.
- Likely range
- 44 to 56
The score is 90% likely to lie in this range, given how few accidents a type has and the error in the estimate of its flights.
- Last fatal accident
- 6 October 2026
Private, Lahmansville, WV, United States of America: 1 of 1 people on board died.
- Aircraft destroyed
- 8
Aircraft the NTSB coded as destroyed in an accident in the United States since 2008, fatal or not, from all causes. The NTSB codes many wrecks as only substantially damaged, so the real number is higher (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300 carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- One flight on the Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300This aircraft1 in 200,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
12 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward the score, with 17 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| PrivateHughes 269B · Lahmansville, WV, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | After two low passes over a private airstrip near Lahmansville, West Virginia, the Hughes 269B climbed weakly, turned toward a field, wagged its tail as if to hover and came down fast. The pilot, alone on board, died. The NTSB has not yet given a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Neo Helicopter Academy LLCSchweizer 269C · Mogadore, OH, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying 20 to 50 ft over a reservoir in darkness near Mogadore, Ohio, on a cross-country flight, the private Schweizer 269C struck the top static wire of a power line and fell into the water. The pilot, alone on board, died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| PrivateSchweizer 269C · West Carthage, NY, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Hovering about 50 ft over a property he was developing near West Carthage, New York, the private Schweizer 269C-1's engine sputtered, a witness said, and it dropped almost straight down into a marsh. The pilot died. The NTSB has not yet given a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Eagle Aviation Academy LLCSchweizer 269C-1 · Ozark, AL, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a solo training flight from Eagle Aviation Academy near Ozark, Alabama, the Schweizer 269C-1 ran out of fuel; the school had not kept its fuel gauge and warning system in order. The engine sputtered and stopped and it dived into the ground. The student pilot died.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Helicopter Flight ServicesSchweizer 269C · Medford, NJ, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a pleasure flight at Flying W Airport, Medford, New Jersey, the Schweizer 269C lost throttle control when a wrongly rigged tie-rod came apart; the pilot shut the engine down and the autorotation failed. He and his passenger, a musician due to play there that evening, died.Type: System failureNTSB docket | |
| Unknown operatorHughes 269C · Howe, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | After the instructor cut the throttle for a practice autorotation at dusk near Howe, Texas, the Hughes 269C's engine stopped and would not restart; the landing was too fast and it rolled over. The instructor died; the student was badly hurt.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Gulf Coast Helicopters IncSchweizer 269C 1 · Jeanerette, LA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a pipeline patrol near Jeanerette, Louisiana, the Gulf Coast Helicopters Schweizer 269C-1 dived nose-down into a cypress swamp with its engine running. The pilot died; the NTSB found no fault and could not say why control was lost.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| PrivateHughes 269C · Asotin, WA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Flying in a canyon near Asotin, Washington, the private Hughes 269C struck two power lines spanning the canyon and fell against the canyon wall, where a fire broke out. The pilot and passenger died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Precision Aviation Training, LLCSchweizer 269C · Newberg, OR, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a night orientation flight near Newberg, Oregon, the Precision Aviation Training Schweizer 269C lost drive to the rotor when a badly worn drive shaft spline gave way; the autorotation ended hard in a field and it burned. The instructor and student died.Type: System failureNTSB docket | |
| Blue Hill HelicoptersSchweizer 269C-1 · Boxborough, MA, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | On a flight instructor checkride near Boxborough, Massachusetts, the FAA inspector chopped the throttle to simulate an engine failure and the engine quit; he then turned the Blue Hill Helicopters 269C-1 toward trees. He died; the applicant was badly hurt.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Ozark Mountain Helicopters, LLCHughes 269B · Salesville, AR, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a power line patrol near Salesville, Arkansas, the Ozark Mountain Helicopters Hughes 269B's rotor hit a crossing high-voltage line about 100 ft up; it crashed and burned. The pilot and the power company observer died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Silicon Valley HelicoptersSchweizer 269 C-1 · Sunol, CA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a night training flight along Interstate 680 under low fog, the Silicon Valley Helicopters Schweizer 269C-1 hit transmission wires in a canyon at Sunol, California, and burned. The instructor and the student died.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket |
The Schweizer 300 trained a generation of US Army pilots as the TH-55, and flight schools still use it. Up to 28 October 2026, 12 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward its score, with 17 deaths, in about 2.2 million US flights. Five were training flights, and four of the twelve hit power lines.
What is the Schweizer 300?
Hughes flew the first Model 269 in 1956 and delivered it from 1961; the US Army bought it as the TH-55 Osage. Schweizer built it from 1983, later as part of Sikorsky until 2018, and Schweizer RSG has built it since. About 2,900 have been built, as the 269A, 269B (Hughes 300), 269C (300C) and the two-seat 300CB and 300CBi trainers. It has one Lycoming piston engine and a three-blade, fully articulated main rotor, with two or three seats side by side. The FAA register held about 420 in 2026.
Flight schools are the best-known users, but in our records the 300 also patrols power lines and pipelines and flies private owners on short local flights.
How the score is built
We count fatal accidents in the United States since 2008, from the NTSB database, against US flights estimated from the FAA aircraft register and the FAA General Aviation survey, split between types by how much each type flies, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records and partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers (OpenSky, 2019 to 2022). Both suggest the average 300 flies less than the average piston helicopter, a class dominated by busy Robinson trainers. A touch-and-go is not a separate flight in our count.
With 12 accidents, confidence is medium and the score rests mainly on the type's own record. The 300 sits behind the Robinson R22 and most turbine helicopters, just ahead of the Enstrom F-28 and the R44, and ahead of the MD 500 and R66. All helicopters carry far more risk per flight than an airline flight. See our method and the helicopter ranking.
Training flights
Of the 12, 5 were training flights and 7 private, pleasure or work flights. Two training accidents began with a simulated engine failure that became a real one. On a flight instructor checkride near Boxborough, Massachusetts, on 26 May 2010, the FAA inspector chopped the throttle and the engine quit; he died and the applicant was badly hurt. Near Howe, Texas, on 9 August 2016, the engine stopped after the instructor cut the throttle for a practice autorotation at dusk and would not restart; the instructor died.
Two more came from the aircraft or its upkeep. Near Newberg, Oregon, on 1 July 2015, a badly worn drive shaft spline gave way on a night orientation flight, and the instructor and student died after a hard autorotation. Near Ozark, Alabama, on 30 May 2020, a solo student ran out of fuel; the school had not kept the fuel gauge and warning system in order. The fifth, at Sunol, California, on 3 July 2008, was a night training flight under low fog into transmission wires.
Wires, maintenance and open cases
Four of the twelve were flights into power lines: at Sunol, on a patrol near Salesville, Arkansas, in 2008, in a canyon near Asotin, Washington, in 2015, and over a reservoir in darkness near Mogadore, Ohio, in 2025. At Medford, New Jersey, on 8 September 2017, a wrongly rigged throttle tie-rod came apart and the autorotation failed; the pilot and his passenger died.
Three cases have no established cause: a pipeline patrol that dived into a swamp in 2016, a hover that ended in a marsh near West Carthage, New York, in 2024, and a crash near Lahmansville, West Virginia, on 6 October 2026, which the NTSB is still investigating.
Before you sign up at a school
- Ask how the school teaches practice autorotations: to a power recovery or to the ground, and how high the instructor takes over.
- Ask who maintains the helicopters and when the drive train and throttle linkage were last inspected; look up the N-number in the NTSB CAROL database.
- Check that the fuel gauge and low-fuel warning work, and never plan a lesson on the gauge alone.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show H269. Look for the bubble canopy, the thin tail boom braced by struts and three main rotor blades; the R22 has two.
Questions people ask
Is the Schweizer 300 safe to learn to fly in?
Its US record per flight is a little behind the Robinson R22, the other common piston trainer, but the likely ranges overlap, so the gap is small and uncertain. Five of its 12 counted fatal accidents since 2008 were training flights. Two began when an instructor or examiner cut the throttle to simulate an engine failure and the engine really stopped.
How many Schweizer 300 crashes have there been in the United States?
Up to 28 October 2026, 12 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward our score, with 17 deaths. Five were training flights and seven private or work flights such as power line and pipeline patrols.
Is the Schweizer 300 the same as the Hughes 300 and the TH-55?
Yes. Hughes designed the 269, sold it as the Hughes 300 and built it for the US Army as the TH-55 Osage trainer. Schweizer took over production in 1983 and called it the Schweizer 300. The turbine Schweizer 333 is a separate type.
Is the Schweizer 300 safer than the Robinson R22?
Not clearly: on our data it sits a little behind the R22, but their likely ranges overlap, so the difference is small and uncertain. The Schweizer has a three-blade, fully articulated rotor, while the R22 has a two-blade teetering rotor with its own low-G risks.
Sources
- 1.NTSB docket: Schweizer 269C-1, Sunol, California, 3 July 2008 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 2.NTSB docket: Schweizer 269C-1, Boxborough, Massachusetts, 26 May 2010 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 3.NTSB docket: Schweizer 269C, Newberg, Oregon, 1 July 2015 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 4.NTSB docket: Hughes 269C, Howe, Texas, 9 August 2016 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 5.NTSB docket: Schweizer 269C, Medford, New Jersey, 8 September 2017 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 6.NTSB docket: Schweizer 269C-1, Ozark, Alabama, 30 May 2020 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 7.NTSB docket: Hughes 269B, Lahmansville, West Virginia, 6 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 8.Schweizer RSG: Schweizer S300CBi (opens in a new tab) · Schweizer RSG
- 9.FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey (opens in a new tab) · Federal Aviation Administration
- 10.SafetyScorer exposure model: FAA aircraft register, FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, OpenSky ADS-B, NTSB airframe hours (opens in a new tab)Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston helicopters in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 422 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.87, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 0.67 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 218 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±20%.