- Date
- December 25, 2021, 12:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Kahului, HI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N752CHEurocopter France AS350B2
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Abrupt maneuver
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20211225020589A
- Case key
- 104544
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s abrupt flight control inputs to correct for dynamic rollover, resulting in a hard landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was repositioning the helicopter from one landing pad to another. As the helicopter lifted off the ground, the right skid became momentarily stuck, and the helicopter began to roll to the right. To prevent dynamic rollover, the pilot immediately lowered the collective. As a result, the helicopter’s left skid struck the ground and the helicopter bounced, sustaining substantial damage to the tail boom. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N752CH
- Reported as
- Eurocopter France AS350B2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1906
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 11,640
- Engine
- Honeywell LTS101-700D-2, 732 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Sunshine Helicopters, doing business as Sunshine Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Delaware Trust Co Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · December 10, 2021
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- OGG · Kahului Airport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 8, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,536 total · 288 in this make and model · 1,436 as pilot in command · 185 in the last 90 days · 61 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 17 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- PHOG, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR PHOG 252254Z 06017G23KT 10SM FEW035 SCT055 26/15 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP154 T02610150=
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.