19980807041839I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Snias AS350BA · Grand Forks, ND · August 7, 1998

Date: August 7, 1998 · 09:30 local
Place: Grand Forks, ND
Airport: Grand Forks-Mark Andrews International
Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N189ND
Reported as: Snias AS350BA
Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL1B
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 8,100 total227 in this make and model165 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-5)On 08-07-98 at 1430 CDT, a Eurocopter, N189ND, owned by the university of north dakota and flown by ronald depue encountered damage to the tail rotor blades during a training flight at Grand Forks, ND. While practicing landings the tail rotor struck a plastic traffic cone used to identify the landing zone. A post flight inspection revealed damage to the tail rotor assembly which was determined to be unairworthy be the manufacturer.

As the FAA filed it

(-5)ON 08-07-98 AT 1430 CDT, A EUROCOPTER, N189ND, OWNED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA AND FLOWN BY RONALD DEPUE ENCOUNTERED DAMAGE TO THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES DURING A TRAINING FLIGHT AT GRAND FORKS, ND. WHILE PRACTICING LANDINGS THE TAIL ROTOR STRUCK A PLASTIC TRAFFIC CONE USED TO IDENTIFY THE LANDING ZONE. A POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE TAIL ROTOR ASSEMBLY WHICH WAS DETERMINED TO BE UNAIRWORTHY BE THE MANUFACTURER.