Singer Troy Gentry
killed in helicopter crash

Date: 8 September 2017
Location: Medford, New Jersey
Aircraft: Schweizer 269C helicopter
Registration number: N204HF
NTSB Accident Number: ERA17FA317
Injuries: Both occupants were killed

Troy Gentry, from the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, was one of two people killed in the crash of a helicopter at the Flying W Airport in Medford, New Jersey. The helicopter pilot, the only other occupant of the aircraft, was also killed. No one else was injured in the crash.

Gentry was to perform at a concert at the airport later that day and he was an orientation flight performed by a commercial helicopter pilot. Although the aircraft, single-engine Schweizer 269C helicopter (N204HF), was operated by the commercial aircraft operator Helicopter Flight Services, and the pilot was an certified flight instructor for that operator, the flight was operated as a non-commercial flight under FAA Part 91 regulations.

Several minutes after takeoff, the pilot reported that he was unable to control engine RPM using throttle inputs. The pilot elected to stop the engine and perform an autorotation, which is a procedure to land a helicopter without using engine power. The helicopter entered the autorotation about 950 feet above the ground. While the autorotation maneuver appeared to start normally, descent rate increased and the helicopter impacted the ground short of runway 01. The crash occurred at 1 p.m. local time (1700 UTC).

Additional information about this accident
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Schweizer 269C helicopter

Singer Troy Gentry killed in helicopter crash
http://airsafe.com/events/celebs/gentry.htm -- Revised: 18 September 2017