Bell 407 N314JP

Summary

On 11 April 2026 at about 00:22 local time, a Bell 407 registered N314JP, operated by City of Jacksonville, was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida, 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

11 April 2026 at 00:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Jacksonville Exec At Craig (CRG)

Coordinates

30.3379, -81.5143

Aircraft

Bell 407

Registration

N314JP

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

City of Jacksonville

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA26LA170

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving the instruction.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and flight instructor were conducting a helicopter training flight using night vision goggles. The training included multiple hovering and straight-in touchdown autorotation maneuvers. The flight instructor stated that during the last touchdown autorotation landing the approach was normal. He continued that the pilot conducted a good deceleration flare but applied the initial collective too early resulting in rotor rpm decay. The helicopter landed hard on the heel of the skids while applying aft cyclic. The main rotor blades contacted both vertical stabilizers and the tailboom resulting in substantial damage. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.