Bell 206B N81519

Summary

On 7 May 2003 at about 15:25 local time, a Bell 206B registered N81519, operated by Bell Helicopter Textron, was involved in an accident near Hurst, Texas, 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

7 May 2003 at 15:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Hurst, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Bell Helicopter Aux Heliport (6TA8)

Coordinates

32.0078, -97.0172

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N81519

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Bell Helicopter Textron

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hurst → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA147

Nobody was injured.

The improper flare by the pilot receiving instruction, which resulted in the hard landing. A contributing factor was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor demonstrated an out of ground effect (OGE) autorotation from 500 feet agl and 0 knots. The pilot receiving instruction was then requested to perform an OGE autorotation from 500 feet agl and 0 knots. During the pilot's second OGE autorotation, he "rolled the throttle off and moved the cyclic slightly forward." The airspeed did not climb above 45 knots and an excessive rate of descent was encountered. The pilot used almost no cyclic to flare the helicopter; however, he pulled "all collective available" prior to touchdown. The helicopter touched down hard.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.