Dennis Kenyon Feels "Stupid," But He'll Be OK

by ANN Senior E-Media Producer Paul Plack

The flying ended early on first day of an informal rotorcraft meet in Utah Friday, when veteran helicopter pilot and airshow performer Dennis Kenyon crashed in a Schweitzer 269C. Kenyon suffered minor injuries, but the machine was destroyed.

A small group of experimental rotorcraft enthusiasts was on hand at West Desert Airpark in Fairfield to enjoy an informal demo by Kenyon, who has been involved in helicopter sales and training in Southern England since the early 1970s. Kenton lifted off about 1300 MDT, and demonstrated some precision ground work on the tip of one skid.

After climbing to perform some more aggressive flight maneuvers, Kenton attempted a wingover. As he exited the maneuver and rounded out the bottom of a swooping descent, he ran out of altitude, and impacted the ground. The helo came down hard on the skids, struck a rotorblade and tumbled in the dirt.

As the dust cleared and onlookers ran to assist, Kenyon crawled from the wreckage, stood up and said, "I feel stupid."

The first paramedic who arrived on the scene asked if he was OK with being up and around, to which Kenyon responded by offering to dance for her. Eventually, he was convinced to catch a ride to a nearby hospital to get a few stitches, but only after agreeing to be interviewed by two local TV stations and, of course, an FAA investigator. Kenyon was in good cheer throughout, and told onlookers he looked forward to returning to the event.

The 1991 Schweitzer 269C, N54LC, is registered to LJ Air, Inc., of Las Vegas, NV, a firm specializing in leasing aircraft for flight training. Kenyon, whose website says he's in the process of retiring to a consulting role, had arrived from the UK just a day before the event. The veteran performer said he'd made 1,213 uneventful helicopter demo flights, over a period of 36 years, before Friday's accident.

The gathering at West Desert Airpark, a private strip, is an informal fly-in which has drawn experimental rotorcraft enthusiasts from several states. The airport closed for about three hours to accommodate an FAA investigation of the accident, but was open again by 1600 local time Friday... after the Schweitzer made its last, ignominious taxi to a storage hangar, powered by John Deere.

Airport owner Mark Pringle said plans for Saturday would continue as scheduled.

FMI: www.easyk.co.uk/kenyon/, www.datacustoms.com/DennisKenyon/