# NTSB investigations: Mast bumping

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 ERA26LA324](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA324.md): CSP Leasing Cavalon · Ronkonkoma, NY · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Investigation open · Aug 30, 2026 · N203AG · Substantial damage
- [NTSB ANC24FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC24FA063.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 · Kekaha, HI · Accident · 3 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Jul 11, 2024 · N144KW · Substantial damage
  > An encounter with turbulence due to downdraft winds that resulted in mast bumping and an in-flight breakup.
- [NTSB CEN24FA248](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA248.md): Rotorway Scorpion 133 · Andale, KS · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Jul 5, 2024 · N51017 · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s abrupt control inputs, which resulted in a low-G condition, main rotor mast bumping, and subsequent severing of the tailboom by the main rotor blades.
- [NTSB WPR23LA313](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA313.md): Bell OH-58A · Guernsey, CA · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report · Aug 9, 2023 · N861CC · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s overpitching of the main rotor blades while maneuvering at low altitude in a high-temperature environment at high gross weight, which resulted in a reduction of engine and rotor speed, excessive main rotor blade flapping, mast bumping, and impact…
- [NTSB WPR19FA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19FA109.md): Bell 206 · Fort McDowell, AZ · Accident · 2 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Apr 16, 2019 · N61PH · Destroyed
  > The separation of the main rotor head from the mast as a result of a sudden displacement of the cyclic stick during a low-G maneuver, leading to mast bumping. Contributing to the accident were the unsecure positioning of the flight test engineer’s laptop…
- [NTSB CEN18WA402](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18WA402.md): Rotorway Exec · Crestet, France · Accident · 1 fatal · Foreign investigation · Apr 5, 2018 · F-PFBJ · Destroyed
  > The government of France has notified the NTSB of an accident involving an amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC helicopter that occurred on April 05, 2018. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the government of France's investigation under…
- [NTSB CEN17FA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17FA012.md): Fairchild Hiller FH 1100 · Lino Lakes, MN · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Oct 6, 2016 · N4035G · Destroyed
  > The separation of the main rotor assembly due to mast bumping.
- [NTSB WPR16FA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16FA130.md): Robinson Helicopter R66 · Wikieup, AZ · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jun 23, 2016 · N117TW · Destroyed
  > An encounter with turbulence due to updrafts and/or dust devils that resulted in mast bumping and an in-flight break-up.
- [NTSB CEN11FA422](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11FA422.md): Robinson R22 Beta · Del Valle, TX · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jun 27, 2011 · N7779M · Substantial damage
  > The divergence of the main rotor from its normal plane of rotation for reasons that cannot be determined because the pilot’s control inputs leading up to the event are unknown, resulting in mast bumping and main rotor blade separation.

## 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 e.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e WHERE e."isDefiningEvent" AND e."tier2Number" = '245')
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/245/cases

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