# Accident 20210208002329A: Md Helicopters Inc 369E, Mesa, AZ, February 8, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 8, 2021, 15:30 local time
- Place: Mesa, AZ
- Airport: Falcon Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4618° N, 111.7305° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4618&lon=-111.7305&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7032V (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: MD HELICOPTERS INC 369E
- Reported engine: ALLISON 250-C20 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 5,641 total, 620 in this make and model, 66 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR21LA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21LA109) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210208002329A

## Narrative

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

MD HELICOPTERS INSTRUCTOR PILOT WAS PROVIDING TRAINING TO A FOREIGN MILITARY CUSTOMER PILOT WHEN DURING AN AUTOROTATION THE AIRCRAFT LANDED WITH THE REAR END OF THE SKIDS LOW AND STRIKING THE GROUND FIRST.  THE STUDENT MAINTAINED SOME AFT CYCLIC INPUT LOWERING THE BLADES REARWARD SO THAT WHEN THE REAR STRUTS EXPANDED AFTER COMPRESSION FROM STRIKING THE GROUND, THE TAIL BOOM WAS PUSHED UPWARD INTO THE PATH OF THE ROTOR BLADES.  THIS DID SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE TAIL BOOM AND TO THE ROTOR BLADES.  COUNSELING WAS GIVEN TO CONVEY BEST PRACTICES CONCERNING LEVELING THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE GROUND CONTACT.

## 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 WPR21LA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21LA109), Feb 8, 2021: MD Helicopter 369 (N7032V), Mesa, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s improper pitch attitude for landing and the inadequate supervision of the flight instructor, resulted in the main rotor blades impacting the tail boom.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.