Eurocopter AS 350B-3 N972AE

Summary

On 15 November 2000 at about 17:30 local time, a Eurocopter AS 350B-3 registered N972AE, operated by Petroleum Helicopters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 2000 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Field (FFZ)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Eurocopter AS 350B-3

Registration

N972AE

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA042

Nobody was injured.

The dual student's misjudged landing flare and level off, which resulted in a heel first touchdown and subsequent hard landing during a practice autorotation. Also causal was the instructor pilot's inadequate supervision of the student.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A practice autorotation to touchdown resulted in a hard landing and bent the tail boom of the helicopter at the fuselage attachment juncture. After first demonstrating a practice autorotation to touchdown, the instructor turned control of the helicopter over to the student to perform the next autorotation to landing. The instructor reported that the student's entry was abrupt resulting in first, high rotor rpm, then low rpm; however, the rpm was proper prior to initiating the landing flare. The student's initial pitch application during the flare was a little too high but satisfactory. As the aircraft neared the landing, additional collective was applied, but it was insufficient to check the sink rate and the heels of the skids made ground contact, rocking the helicopter first forward onto the toe of the skid and then back down on the full skid. The pilot heard a metallic sound and, on external inspection, found the tail boom was bent down.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.