20110317005109A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Bell 230 · Abbeville, LA · March 17, 2011

Date: March 17, 2011 · 10:00 local
Place: Abbeville, LA
Airport: N/A
Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator: R8HA
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N974RH
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN11CA232
Reported as: Bell 230
Reported engine: Allison 250-C30 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 10,280 total1,108 in this make and model134 in the last 90 days

N974RHRegistered now · Bell 230S/N 23020 · Built 1994 Airframe modelBell 230 Engine modelAllison 250-C30 seriesTurbo-shaft

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.

Pilot was asked to reposition aircraft to allow another aircraft to land on helideck. While repositioning the pilot allowed the tailrotor to strike a pole used to support the lightning strike grounding system. The pilot then felt that the tail rotor was going to fail and did not want the rotation to worsen so he rolled throttles to idle, at that time the aircraft landed hard and yawed rapidly to the left and began a lateral slide right about 2-3 feet.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT WAS ASKED TO REPOSITION AIRCRAFT TO ALLOW ANOTHER AIRCRAFT TO LAND ON HELIDECK. WHILE REPOSITIONING THE PILOT ALLOWED THE TAILROTOR TO STRIKE A POLE USED TO SUPPORT THE LIGHTNING STRIKE GROUNDING SYSTEM. THE PILOT THEN FELT THAT THE TAIL ROTOR WAS GOING TO FAIL AND DID NOT WANT THE ROTATION TO WORSEN SO HE ROLLED THROTTLES TO IDLE, AT THAT TIME THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD AND YAWED RAPIDLY TO THE LEFT AND BEGAN A LATERAL SLIDE RIGHT ABOUT 2-3 FEET.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN11CA232Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal reportGulf of Mexico, LAThe pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from the safety skirting during the repositioning landing.Mar 17, 2011 · Substantial damage