# NTSB investigations, 2015: Emergency descent

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 ERA16LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA059.md): Pacific Aerospace 750XL · Raeford, NC · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Dec 3, 2015 · N216PK · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point and speed during a precautionary landing with the engine shut down. Contributing to the accident was an erroneous engine torque indication, which led the pilot to shut the engine down, for reasons that…
- [NTSB ERA16LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA055.md): Robinson R22 · Venice, FL · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Dec 1, 2015 · N8560M · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.
- [NTSB GAA16CA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA055.md): Bell 47G · Searchlight, NV · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Oct 18, 2015 · N73224 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from a tree during hover flight.
- [NTSB CEN15WA447](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15WA447.md): Bell 407 · San Agustine Guatemala, Guatemala · Accident · No injuries · Foreign investigation · Sep 24, 2015 · TG-PDF · Substantial damage
  > The Direccion General de Aeronutica Civil (DGAC) of Guatemala has notified the NTSB of a non-fatal accident involving a Bell 407GX Helicopter, registration TG-PDF, that occurred on September 24, 2015. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to…
- [NTSB WPR15LA245](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR15LA245.md): Schweizer 269C · Las Vegas, NV · Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 18, 2015 · N17YS · Substantial damage
  > A total loss of engine power during a practice autorotation for reasons that could not be determined.
- [NTSB CEN15LA322](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA322.md): Bell 47G 4A · Gilbert, IA · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 24, 2015 · N1396X · Substantial damage
  > The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation because the available fuel shifted within the tanks due to an abrupt nose-low maneuver to avoid an obstacle, which resulted in a hard forced landing.
- [NTSB GAA15CA181](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA181.md): Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta · Caldwell, ID · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jul 13, 2015 · N184SH · Substantial damage
  > Abnormal ground contact during a 180 degree autorotation, resulting in a severed tail rotor driveshaft by a main rotor blade. A factor contributing to the accident was the rotor blowback condition due to the aft tilting of the main rotor disk.
- [NTSB GAA15CA097](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA097.md): Bell 47G 3B 1 · Fort Pierre, SD · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · May 28, 2015 · N112SH · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during the subsequent autorotation landing.
- [NTSB ANC15LA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA076.md): Airbus AS-350 · Hamilton, MT · Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report · May 4, 2015 · N504WD · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's excessive collective application during an autorotation. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the training flight.
- [NTSB ERA15WA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15WA211.md): Bell 430 · Aydin, Türkiye · Accident · Minor injuries · Foreign investigation · Apr 26, 2015 · TC-HSZ · Substantial damage
  > On April 26, 2015, at 1322 coordinated universal time, a Bell 430, Turkish-registered TC-HSZ, was substantially damaged following a hard landing near Aydin, Turkey. The pilot and co-pilot were not injured. Two passengers sustained minor injuries, and three…
- [NTSB CEN15LA215](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA215.md): Cessna 172 - H · Circleville, TX · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Mar 24, 2015 · N8282L · Substantial damage
  > The failure of the engine to regain normal power after a simulated engine failure due to carburetor icing, which resulted in a forced landing on muddy terrain and a subsequent nose-over.
- [NTSB GAA15CA002](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA002.md): Bell 407 · Justin, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Mar 5, 2015 · N41BH · Substantial damage
  > Abnormal ground contact during an autorotation demonstration, resulting in a severed tailrotor driveshaft.
- [NTSB WPR15LA106](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR15LA106.md): Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G 164A · Alfalfa, OR · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Feb 18, 2015 · N4863 · Substantial damage
  > A total loss of engine power after takeoff for reasons that could not be determined, because examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
- [NTSB CEN15WA142](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15WA142.md): Robinson R66 · Bern, Switzerland · Incident · No injuries · Foreign investigation · Feb 7, 2015 · HB-ZOK · No damage
  > This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. On February 7, 2015, between 1300-1400 UTC, a Robinson R66 helicopter, HB-ZOK, (s/n 0553) experienced a loss of engine power during recovery from an autorotation on a training flight.…
- [NTSB CEN15LA131](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA131.md): Bell-Watson 47 G · North Little Rock, AR · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jan 29, 2015 · N43762 · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor’s failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm during the practice touchdown autorotation, which resulted in a subsequent loss of helicopter control and impact with terrain.
- [NTSB CEN15FA126](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15FA126.md): Enstrom 280FX · Erie, CO · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jan 26, 2015 · N86235 · Destroyed
  > An in-flight failure of the helicopter's #2 main rotor spindle due to undetected fatigue cracking, which resulted in an in-flight breakup. Contributing to failure were the nonconforming thread root radius of the spindle and the manufacturer's failure to…

## The whole list in SQL

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

```sql
WITH phase_names(main, name) AS (VALUES (100, 'Prior to flight'), (150, 'Standing'), (200, 'Pushback/towing'), (250, 'Taxi'), (300, 'Takeoff'), (350, 'Initial climb'), (400, 'Enroute'), (450, 'Maneuvering'), (500, 'Approach'), (550, 'Landing'), (600, 'Emergency descent'), (650, 'Uncontrolled descent'), (700, 'Post-impact'), (750, 'After landing'), (800, 'Other'), (990, 'Unknown')),
  crosswalk(code, main, name) AS (VALUES (500, 150, 'Standing'), (501, 150, 'Standing - pre-flight'), (502, 150, 'Standing - starting engine(s)'), (503, 150, 'Standing - engine(s) operating'), (504, 150, 'Standing - engine(s) not operating'), (505, 150, 'Standing - idling rotors'), (510, 250, 'Taxi'), (511, 200, 'Taxi - pushback/tow'), (512, 250, 'Taxi - to takeoff'), (513, 250, 'Taxi - from landing'), (514, 250, 'Taxi - aerial'), (520, 300, 'Takeoff'), (521, 300, 'Takeoff - roll/run'), (522, 350, 'Takeoff - initial climb'), (523, 300, 'Takeoff - aborted'), (530, 400, 'Climb'), (531, 400, 'Climb - to cruise'), (540, 400, 'Cruise'), (541, 400, 'Cruise - normal'), (542, 400, 'Maneuvering - holding (IFR)'), (550, 400, 'Descent'), (551, 400, 'Descent - normal'), (552, 600, 'Descent - emergency'), (553, 650, 'Descent - uncontrolled'), (560, 500, 'Approach'), (561, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - downwind'), (562, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - base turn'), (563, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final'), (564, 500, 'Approach - VFR pattern - final approach'), (565, 500, 'Go-around (VFR)'), (566, 500, 'Approach - IAF to FAF/outer marker (IFR)'), (567, 500, 'Approach - FAF/outer marker to threshold (IFR)'), (568, 500, 'Circling (IFR)'), (569, 500, 'Missed approach (IFR)'), (570, 550, 'Landing'), (571, 550, 'Landing - flare/touchdown'), (572, 550, 'Landing - roll'), (573, 550, 'Landing - aborted'), (574, 550, 'Emergency landing'), (575, 550, 'Emergency landing after takeoff'), (576, 600, 'Emergency descent/landing'), (580, 450, 'Maneuvering'), (581, 450, 'Maneuvering - aerial application'), (582, 450, 'Maneuvering - turn to reverse direction'), (583, 450, 'Maneuvering - turn to landing area (emergency)'), (590, 450, 'Hover'), (591, 450, 'Hover - in ground effect'), (592, 450, 'Hover - out of ground effect'), (600, 800, 'Other'), (610, 990, 'Unknown')),
  current_codes AS (
    SELECT e.case_mkey, TRY_CAST(e."tier1Number" AS INTEGER) AS code,
      row_number() OVER (PARTITION BY e.case_mkey ORDER BY coalesce(e."isDefiningEvent", false) DESC, e.position) AS n
    FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e
    WHERE e.aircrafts_position = 1 AND e."tier1Number" GLOB '[1-9][0-9]*'
      AND (e."isDefiningEvent" OR e.case_mkey IN (SELECT "mKey" FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' WHERE "isPre1982"))
  ),
  phases AS (
    SELECT case_mkey, 'current' AS scheme, code, CASE WHEN code >= 990 THEN 990 ELSE code // 50 * 50 END AS main
    FROM current_codes WHERE n = 1
    UNION ALL
    SELECT o.case_mkey, 'older', o."phaseOfFlightCode", w.main
    FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_occurrences.parquet' o JOIN crosswalk w ON w.code = o."phaseOfFlightCode"
    WHERE o.aircrafts_position = 1 AND o."occurrenceNumber" = 1 AND o.case_mkey NOT IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM current_codes)
  ),
  case_phases AS (
    SELECT p.*, c."eventDate", c."highestInjuryLevel" = 'Fatal' AS fatal, a.aircraft_model_code
    FROM phases p JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c ON c."mKey" = p.case_mkey
    LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = p.case_mkey AND a.position = 1
    WHERE c."eventDate" >= DATE '1962-01-01' AND p.main IN (SELECT main FROM phase_names)
  )
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 year(c."eventDate") = 2015
  AND c."mKey" IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM case_phases WHERE main = 600)
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/600/cases?year=2015

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