20130713013229A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1 · Inyokern, CA · July 13, 2013

Date
July 13, 2013 · 12:35 local
Place
Inyokern, CA
Airport
Inyokern
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator
A6ZA
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N123HP
NTSB investigation
NTSBWPR13CA329
Reported as
Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1
Reported engine
Rolls-Royce 250-C30P
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours
18,623 total6,000 in this make and model90 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.

While performing a 180° auto rotation for company training, the PIC was unable to recover from a low power setting. The helicopter made hard contact with the runway causing the skid to collapse and the main rotor blades to contact the tail boom.

As the FAA filed it

WHILE PERFORMING A 180° AUTO ROTATION FOR COMPANY TRAINING, THE PIC WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER FROM A LOW POWER SETTING. THE HELICOPTER MADE HARD CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY CAUSING THE SKID TO COLLAPSE AND THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES TO CONTACT THE TAIL BOOM.

NTSB investigation

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