# NTSB investigations: Bell 407: Hard landing

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB ERA26LA170](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA170.md): Bell 407 · Jacksonville, FL · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Apr 11, 2026 · N314JP · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving the instruction.
- [NTSB CEN25LA380](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA380.md): Bell 407 · Decatur, TX · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Sep 16, 2025 · N407WA · Substantial damage
  > The instructor candidate’s erroneous operation of the throttle during an autorotation from altitude with power recovery, which resulted in a hard landing.
- [NTSB WPR24LA265](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA265.md): Bell 407 · Raft River, ID · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report · Aug 3, 2024 · N20BH · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s misdiagnosis of an erroneous engine instrument indication and his subsequent decision to enter an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing due to degraded visual cues and low ambient light conditions. Contributing to the accident were the…
- [NTSB ERA24LA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA045.md): Bell 407 · Chesterfield, VA · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Nov 16, 2023 · N26VA · Substantial damage
  > A hard landing, which resulted in a main rotor strike of the left vertical stablizer.
- [NTSB CEN23LA053](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA053.md): Bell 407 · Searcy, AR · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Nov 19, 2022 · N184SF · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from the electrical box while repositioning.
- [NTSB ERA21LA264](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA264.md): Bell 407 · Tampa, FL · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jun 22, 2021 · N512TP · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s improper landing flare while making a power off practice autorotative landing. Contributing was the decreased visual cues provided by the recently paved runway during the night landing conducted with the aid of night vision goggles.
- [NTSB CEN20CA395](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20CA395.md): Bell 407 · Fort Worth, TX · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report · Sep 15, 2020 · N489DM · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor’s delay in rolling the throttle to the fly position during a practice autorotation maneuver that resulted in a hard landing.
- [NTSB CEN17LA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA188.md): Bell 407 · Fort Worth, TX · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jan 24, 2017 · N6040Y · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor's failure to prevent the engine/rotor overspeed condition during the demonstration maneuver and the excessive descent rate during the emergency landing, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the engine/rotor overspeed…
- [NTSB CEN15LA265](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA265.md): Bell 407 · Pecan Island, LA · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 8, 2015 · N501PH · Substantial damage
  > The fatigue fracture of the tail rotor gearbox attachment studs, which resulted in a loss of tail rotor control and a subsequent hard landing.
- [NTSB CEN12LA242](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA242.md): Bell 407 · Aberdeen, SD · Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Apr 14, 2012 · N509MT · Substantial damage
  > The fatigue failure of two turbine engine blades due to vibration.
- [NTSB WPR11LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA056.md): Bell 407 · Riverdale, UT · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 22, 2010 · N408UH · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a highway marker sign while maneuvering.
- [NTSB ERA10TA261](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10TA261.md): Bell 407 · Abingdon, VA · Accident · No injuries · Final report · May 11, 2010 · N31VA · Substantial damage
  > The improper repair of an engine component by a repair facility, which resulted in a complete loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the repair facility to recognize that an improper repair had been accomplished, which allowed…
- [NTSB CEN09CA203](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA203.md): Bell 407 · Lancaster, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Feb 27, 2009 · N2592T · Substantial damage
  > The failure of the pilot to maintain adequate main rotor rpm and the failure of the CFI to provide appropriate instruction during the maneuver.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('1182206')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '092' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence?model=1182206

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