Bell 206B3 N59383

Summary

On 27 May 2011 at about 15:30 local time, a Bell 206B3 registered N59383, operated by N57AW LLC, was involved in an accident near Glendale, 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

27 May 2011 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Glendale, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Glendale Municipal Airport (KGEU)

Coordinates

33.5292, -112.2967

Aircraft

Bell 206B3

Registration

N59383

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

N57AW LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glendale → Glendale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11CA243

Nobody was injured.

The certified flight instructor's failure to maintain adequate main rotor RPM during the autorotation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to demonstrate a variety of maneuvers to the student in the helicopter. Near the end of the flight the instructor demonstrated a power-on autorotation; however, he delayed the application of power and did not have sufficient rotor RPM to recover the helicopter before impacting the ground. Upon ground impact, the helicopter's tail rotor drive shaft and main rotor blades were damaged. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions of failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.