Bell OH 58A N161PD

Summary

On 25 October 2016 at about 20:00 local time, a Bell OH 58A registered N161PD was involved in an accident near Ponce, 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

25 October 2016 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ponce, United States

Nearest airport

Mercedita (PSE)

Coordinates

18.0108, -66.5633

Aircraft

Bell OH 58A

Registration

N161PD

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ponce → Ponce

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17CA056

Nobody was injured.

The helicopter flight instructor's inadequate demonstration of a simulated engine failure, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight, the helicopter was about 40 to 50 ft above ground level and at 60 knots when the flight instructor intended to demonstrate a simulated engine failure and run-on landing. Although the flight instructor had intended to recover from the maneuver before an actual run-on landing, he noticed that he did not have enough rotor rpm to recover and chose to continue with the run-on landing. The helicopter then landed hard on a taxiway and slid about 300 ft before coming to rest upright. The flight instructor added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the aft engine bulkhead and wrinkles in the helicopter panels near the tailboom and rotor gear box.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.