20211213021059A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 · New York, NY · December 13, 2021

Date: December 13, 2021 · 16:10 local
Place: New York, NY
Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N920PD
NTSB investigation: NTSBERA22LA091
Reported as: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429
Reported engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1/D2
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,300 total510 in this make and model45 in the last 90 days

N920PDRegistered now · Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429S/N 57233 · Built 2014 Airframe modelBell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 Engine modelPratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1/D2Turbo-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.

Helicopter N920PD while landing at the New York city downtown heliport experienced a hard landing. The airman touched down on a designated parking area. After landing, airman attempted to reposition helicopter by cyclic control only. This caused the helicopter to rock forward on the skids and induce an oscillation which ultimately resulted in a hard impact with the ground. The right skid gear had collapsed and the rotor blades made contact with the wire-strike system. There were no injuries.

As the FAA filed it

HELICOPTER N920PD WHILE LANDING AT THE NEW YORK CITY DOWNTOWN HELIPORT EXPERIENCED A HARD LANDING. THE AIRMAN TOUCHED DOWN ON A DESIGNATED PARKING AREA. AFTER LANDING, AIRMAN ATTEMPTED TO REPOSITION HELICOPTER BY CYCLIC CONTROL ONLY. THIS CAUSED THE HELICOPTER TO ROCK FORWARD ON THE SKIDS AND INDUCE AN OSCILLATION WHICH ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN A HARD IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. THE RIGHT SKID GEAR HAD COLLAPSED AND THE ROTOR BLADES MADE CONTACT WITH THE WIRE-STRIKE SYSTEM. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.

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 ERA22LA091Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal reportManhattan, NYThe pilots overapplication of flight controls during landing, which resulted in the rotor blades contacting the wire strike protection system and subsequent hard landing.Dec 13, 2021 · Substantial damage