Bell 206B N43791

Summary

On 12 June 2009 at about 15:45 local time, a Bell 206B registered N43791, operated by Textron Financial Corp, was involved in an accident near Justin, 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

12 June 2009 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Justin, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Bell Training Facility Helipor (3XS7)

Coordinates

33.0492, -97.2933

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N43791

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Textron Financial Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Justin → Justin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA351

Nobody was injured.

The instructor pilot's failure to add sufficient power early enough to compensate for the strong gusting headwinds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter instructor pilot was demonstrating an “extended glide” autorotation to a paved landing “lane” when the accident occurred. The autorotation was initiated at an altitude of approximately 740 feet above ground level (agl). Upon reaching an altitude of 75 feet agl, the pilot determined that he was going to land short of the paved surface so he applied power; however, lift was suddenly lost. He then noticed a raised concrete lip between the grass and the landing lane so he applied aft cyclic hoping the front of the skids would not catch on the raised pavement. The helicopter touched down in the soft terrain, slid over the rise in the pavement, and became airborne. The helicopter then touched down on the pavement, at which time the tail boom was severed. The helicopter slid about 75 feet and turned to the right about 40 degrees prior to coming to rest. Winds at the time of the accident were from 180 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The autorotation was being performed to the south.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.