# Accident 20200915021479A: Bell 407, Fort Worth, TX, September 15, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 15, 2020, 17:20 local time
- Place: Fort Worth, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.5942° N, 97.1917° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.5942&lon=-97.1917&mi=10
- Aircraft: N489DM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N489DM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (registry code 54585, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c47b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 10,300 total, 911 in this make and model, 36 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20CA395](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20CA395) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200915021479A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON 09/15/2020 AT 1720 CDT A BELL 407 HELICOPTER SUFFERED A HARD LANDING ON TAXIWAY PAPA AT ALLIANCE AIRPORT IN FORT WORTH, TX DURING AUTOROTATION TRAINING.

THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT TOOK OVER CONTROLS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE IMPACT AND APPLIED BOTH THROTTLE AND COLLECTIVE.

THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST UPRIGHT WITH ONLY THE SKIDS HAVING CONTACTED THE GROUND. THE LANDING GEAR WAS SPREAD EVENLY TO 98 INCHES BETWEEN THE SKIDS. THE MAINROTOR BLADES MADE CONTACT WITH BOTH AUXILIARY FINS OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, AFT TAILROTOR DRIVESHAFT COWLING, AND THE NUMBER FOUR TAILROTOR DRIVESHAFT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN20CA395](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20CA395), Sep 15, 2020: Bell 407 (N489DM), Fort Worth, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor’s delay in rolling the throttle to the fly position during a practice autorotation maneuver that resulted in a hard landing.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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