Guimbal CABRI N369PA

Summary

On 23 May 2019 at about 19:10 local time, a Guimbal CABRI registered N369PA, operated by D H Helicopter Inc, was involved in an accident near St. Louis, Illinois, 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

23 May 2019 at 19:10

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Louis, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

St Louis Downtown (CPS)

Coordinates

38.5703, -90.1550

Aircraft

Guimbal CABRI

Registration

N369PA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2015

Engines

1

Operator

D H Helicopter Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Louis → St. Louis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA279

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's improper emergency procedure instruction to the student pilot, which resulted in the student improperly using the throttle to correct the loss of yaw control, which resulted in ground impact and a dynamic rollover. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during a training flight in the helicopter, he briefed the student pilot on the procedures required to land with a simulated stuck left pedal. The student began a descent to enter a shallower-than-normal glidepath to the runway surface, and he completed his final checks for the maneuver and continued the approach. During the approach the flight instructor directed the student pilot to use "throttle manipulation to control the yaw caused by a fixed input on the anti-torque system." Upon contacting the runway, the helicopter veered left, and the instructor chose to abort the landing. As the helicopter lifted off, it began to rapidly yaw left while drifting left of the runway. Recognizing that the helicopter was in a spin, they attempted to correct by leveling the helicopter long enough to regain tail rotor authority. The helicopter's left skid impacted mud on the left side of the runway, and the helicopter rolled onto its left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor, fuselage, and tailboom. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. A manufacturer's service letter, SL 19-002 A, stated, "During in-flight tail rotor control failure simulation, pilots should never use the twist grip to control yaw." Therefore, the flight instructor's direction to the student to use the throttle to correct the yaw was incorrect and led to ground impact and a dynamic rollover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.