Bell 206B N3202D

Summary

On 7 August 2007 at about 15:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N3202D was involved in an accident near Warrenton, Virginia, 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 August 2007 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Warrenton, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Warrenton-Fauquier Airport (W66)

Coordinates

38.5861, -77.7106

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N3202D

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07LA188

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm during touchdown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a training flight in a Bell 206B helicopter, the certified flight instructor was demonstrating a rapid deceleration maneuver to a grass area at the airport. The helicopter touched down hard, buckling the tail boom downward. The subsequent misalignment fractured the tail rotor drive shaft into several sections, and deflected the tail boom to the right. Examination of the fractured tail boom and tail rotor segments revealed overload fractures consistent with a hard, vertical landing, near 70 percent main rotor rpm. Even though the pilots were not performing an autorotation, the conditions at touchdown were similar to procedures outlined in the Bell 206 Rotorcraft Flight Manual, which instructed pilots to adjust collective pitch during an autorotation maneuver as required to maintain 90 to 107 percent rpm. It was also recommended that a level touchdown be made prior to passing through 70 percent rotor rpm. The manufacturer had warned operators that the tail boom and aft fuselage could be damaged if during an autorotation landing the main rotor rpm was allowed to decay below 70 percent rpm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.