- Date
- May 21, 2023, 15:40 local (May 22, 2023, 01:40 UTC)
- Place
- Honolulu, HI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N745RHAerospatiale AS350B2
- Defining event
- Autorotation: Hard landing
- 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
- 20230521005129A
- Case key
- 192262
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 instructor pilot’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction, which resulted in a hard landing, and substantial damage to the tail boom.
Findings · 2
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 receiving instruction and instructor pilot completed a Part 135 recurrent training flight, which included, in part, autorotations, hovering autorotations, and sloping ground landings. A post-flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the tail boom that was consistent with a hard landing. The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N745RH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS350B2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2047
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 15,293.9
- Engine
- Safran Turbomeca Arriel 1D1, 712 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Novictor Aviation
- Registered owner
- United Helicopter Leasing LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 20, 2023 · 4.2 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- PHNL · Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- May 3, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,595 total · 616 in this make and model · 2,530 as pilot in command · 93 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 23, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 18,100 total · 142 in this make and model · 5,500 as pilot in command · 212 in the last 90 days · 68 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- PHNL, 2 nm away
- METAR
- PHNL 220153Z 07016KT 10SM FEW022 FEW038 29/20 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP177 T02940200
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 20, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.