Bell 206B N100RW

Summary

On 28 August 2007 at about 20:45 local time, a Bell 206B registered N100RW, operated by Ocean Helicopters Inc., was involved in an accident near West Palm Beach, Florida, 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

28 August 2007 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

West Palm Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

North Palm Beach County Airpor (F45)

Coordinates

26.8408, -80.2203

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N100RW

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Ocean Helicopters Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Palm Beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL07CA122

Nobody was injured.

The flight Instructor's delayed activation of the throttle during recovery from a demonstartion of an autorotation resulting in touchdown on soft terrain and a nosedown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the Flight Instructor, "the flight was concluding a training flight. The final exercise was a demonstration of an autorotation to a powered recovery. The entry and glide were normal. During the flare the throttle was opened to reinstate the engine power. At this point I was aware that I did not have sufficient power to bring the aircraft to a hover. I leveled the aircraft and prepared for a touch down autorotation. Contact with the ground was level but with some forward movement. The grass runway was soft due to recent rainfall and as a result the front of the skids dug into the runway bringing the aircraft to a sudden stop. The helicopter tipped forward with some force resulting in the mast tipping forward and the blade flexing down. As the blade rotated to the rear of the aircraft it came into contact with the tail boom and severed the tail rotor drive shaft. The aircraft did remain upright and level and I was able to perform a normal shut down. We then exited the aircraft to inspect the damage." The Flight Instructor further stated that "I should have opened the throttle prior to the [flare] in order to give the engine more time to recover before pulling pitch. I was simply late bringing the power back in." The Flight Instructor reported no engine or mechanical malfunction or failures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.