- Date
- November 15, 2003, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Greenville, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N536Hughes OH-6A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031115027899A
- Case key
- 58360
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 improper landing flare, resulting in a hard landing and a main rotor/tailboom strike.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), while conducting an instructional flight an autorotation was performed. After the autorotation the CFI brought the helicopter to a hover, and then climbed to an altitude of approximately 200 feet for another practice autorotation. The helicopter briefly shuttered and the aft section of the tail boom separated from the airframe. The helicopter began spinning and came to rest in a thicket of pine trees. According to a witness at the scene of the practice autorotation, he recalled hearing a loud "pop" when the helicopter touched down. The CFI did not hear or feel anything unusual during or after the autorotation, and reported a normal takeoff. A survey of the first touchdown point revealed a pie shaped piece of blue metal on the ground. Further examination revealed the pie shaped piece of metal fit an area on the tail boom. Examination revealed the main rotor blades had blue paint on the tips. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the CFI.
Factual narrative
On November 15, 2003, at 1045 eastern standard time, a Hughes OH-6A, N536, registered to and operated by MG Aviation, collided with the ground during an instructional flight at Greenville Downtown Airport, Greenville, South Carolina. The instructional flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and commercial pilot did not report any injuries. The flight departed Greenville Downtown Airport Greenville, South Carolina, on November 15, 2003, at 1045.
According to the CFI, while conducting an instructional flight an autorotation was performed. After the autorotation the CFI brought the helicopter to a hover, and then climbed to an altitude of approximately 200 feet for another practice autorotation. The helicopter briefly shuttered and the aft section of the tail boom separated from the airframe. The helicopter began spinning and came to rest in a thicket of pine trees.
According to a witness at the scene of the practice autorotation, he recalled hearing a loud "pop" when the helicopter touched down. The CFI did not hear or feel anything unusual during or after the autorotation, and reported a normal takeoff. A survey of the first touchdown point revealed a pie shaped piece of blue metal on the ground. Further examination revealed the pie shaped piece of metal fit an area on the tail boom. Examination revealed the main rotor blades had blue paint on the tips. No mechanical or flight control malfunctions were reported by the CFI.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N536
- Reported as
- Hughes OH-6A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 58-0504
- Airframe hours
- 3,797
- Engine
- Allison 250-C10D, 270 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- MG Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 23, 2003 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- GMU · Greenville, SC
- Airport
- GMU · Greenville Downtown
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- July 15, 2002
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,100 total · 60 in this make and model · 1,000 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 72 in the last 30 days · 20 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,150 total · 90 in this make and model · 2,700 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- GMU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.