McDonnell Douglas 369E N842LA

Summary

On 17 October 1996 at about 19:50 local time, a McDonnell Douglas 369E registered N842LA, operated by MD Helicopter Systems, was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 October 1996 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Field (FFZ)

Coordinates

33.5106, -111.5791

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas 369E

Registration

N842LA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

MD Helicopter Systems

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA021

1 person had minor injuries.

the selection of an unsuitable landing area by the flight instructor (CFI). Factors relating to the accident were: soft/wet terrain in the selected landing area, and the crosswind condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A certified flight instructor (CFI) was administering dual instruction to a certificated pilot. A recently seeded and irrigated grass landing area was selected for practice (touchdown) autorotations. The grass surface was wet and uneven. The helicopter's right skid caught in the sod during the landing ground run, and the helicopter rolled onto it's right side. Both pilot's attempted to prevent the rollover by applying full left cyclic without success. There was a left 5-knot crosswind reported by the air traffic control tower at the time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.