Bell 407 N489DM

Summary

On 15 September 2020 at about 21:53 local time, a Bell 407 registered N489DM, operated by DEA, was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, 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

15 September 2020 at 21:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Worth (AFW)

Coordinates

32.5942, -97.1917

Aircraft

Bell 407

Registration

N489DM

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

DEA

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA395

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s delay in rolling the throttle to the fly position during a practice autorotation maneuver that 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 a routine training flight, the helicopter was in the traffic pattern practicing power recovery auto-rotations, with the pilot under training at the flight controls. During the 5th practice auto-rotation, the flight instructor reduced the throttle, and the helicopter began a normal descent. During the deceleration flare, about 75 ft above ground level, the flight instructor heard the low rotor RPM audio tone. Using a positive transfer of control, the flight instructor quickly took the flight controls. He increased the throttle to what he believed to be the “FLY” position. The helicopter settled onto a taxiway. The main rotor blades severed the vertical fins on the horizontal stabilizer, and the tail rotor driveshaft was severed. The operator reported that the pilot did not rapidly roll the throttle to the “FLY” position during the deceleration/flare, and the helicopter contacted the ground at less than 100% rotor RPM. The operator stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.