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20070215003849I

Incident · Substantial damage
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FAA incident report · Agusta A119 · Phoenix, AZ · February 15, 2007

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
February 15, 2007 · 12:05 local
Place
Phoenix, AZ
Phase of flight
Practice Training Manuevers
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N196FB
Reported as
Agusta A119
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
3,812 total200 in this make and model120 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.

(-23) The pilot CFI privacy data omitted of the Phoenix police dept, was giving helicopter flight instruction to fellow police officer privacy data omitted. During the flight the CFI was instructing the student in hovering autorotations, after performing the maneuvers they returned to the dvt airport. Upon arrival they practiced additional maneuvers at the police department site and taxied to the helicopter pad located in front of the police department hangar where a maintenance personnel noted damage to the tail boom just forward of the vertical fin and instructed the crew of the helicopter to shut down. An inspection revealed damage to the tail rotor fairing, tail rotor drive shaft, drive shaft coupling and evidence of strike on three of the main rotors. An evaluation of the four main rotors by Agusta found all four blades are out of acceptable deflection tolerance and must be scraped. It is assumed that the damage was a result of low rotor RPM during the demonstration of hovering autorotations resulting in the blade strikes on the tail boom and drive shaft.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE PILOT CFI ^PRIVACY^ OF THE PHOENIX POLICE DEPT, WAS GIVING HELICOPTER FLIGHT INSTRUCTION TO FELLOW POLICE OFFICER ^PRIVACY D^. DURING THE FLIGHT THE CFI WAS INSTRUCTING THE STUDENT IN HOVERING AUTOROTATIONS, AFTER PERFORMING THE MANEUVERS THEY RETURNED TO THE DVT AIRPORT. UPON ARRIVAL THEY PRACTICED ADDITIONAL MANEUVERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SITE AND TAXIED TO THE HELICOPTER PAD LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HANGAR WHERE A MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL NOTED DAMAGE TO THE TAIL BOOM JUST FORWARD OF THE VERTICAL FIN AND INSTRUCTED THE CREW OF THE HELICOPTER TO SHUT DOWN. AN INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE TAIL ROTOR FAIRING, TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT, DRIVE SHAFT COUPLING AND EVIDENCE OF STRIKE ON THREE OF THE MAIN ROTORS. AN EVALUATION OF THE FOUR MAIN ROTORS BY AGUSTA FOUND ALL FOUR BLADES ARE OUT OF ACCEPTABLE DEFLECTION TOLERANCE AND MUST BE SCRAPED. IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE DAMAGE WAS A RESULT OF LOW ROTOR RPM DURING THE DEMONSTRATION OF HOVERING AUTOROTATIONS RESULTING IN THE BLADE STRIKES ON THE TAIL BOOM AND DRIVE SHAFT.