# Accident 20230523004289A: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, Abbeville, LA, May 23, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 23, 2023, 10:15 local time
- Place: Abbeville, LA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: HEEA
- Location: 29.9752° N, 92.0847° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.9752&lon=-92.0847&mi=10
- Aircraft: N451PH (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 407
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,689 total, 714 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN23LA199](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA199) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230523004289A

## Narrative

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

DURING AUTOROTATION PRACTICES FOR A PILOT IN TRAINING (THREE HAD BEEN PERFORMED WITH NO TOUCH DOWN BUT THE LAST AUTOROTATION WAS TO BE PERFORMED AS A TOUCH DOWN) AT THE ABBEVILLE AIRPORT IN THE GRASS AREA ADJACENT TO RUNWAY 16. THE LAST HELICOPTER AUTOROTATION TO TOUCH DOWN RESULTED IN THE HELICOPTER HITTING THE GROUND HARD, SPREADING THE GEAR OUT AND THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES CONTACTING THE TAIL BOOM, CUTTING OFF THE LAST THREE FEET.

## 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 CEN23LA199](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA199), May 23, 2023: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 (N451PH), Abbeville, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain proper helicopter control during autorotation that resulted in an abnormal ground contact which caused the subsequent main rotor strike on the tail boom that severed…

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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