- Date
- December 18, 1995, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- N. Myrtle Beach, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N234SMHiller 12C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951218041489A
- Case key
- 3678
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 operation of the flight controls during a practice autorotation, and the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the operation
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
The private helicopter pilot and certified flight instructor were conducting pre-checkride flight training. While executing an autorotation to a power recovery, the tail rotor assembly collided with the ground and subsequently separated from the gearbox assembly. No mechanical problems with the helicopter were reported by the pilots.
Factual narrative
On December 18, 1995, at 1500 eastern standard time, a Hiller 12C, N234SM, touched down hard during a practice autorotation at the Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The instructional flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The helicopter sustained substantial damage; the certified flight instructor and the private pilot were not injured. The flight departed North Myrtle Beach, at 1430.
The pilots were conducting pre-checkride flight training. According to the private pilot, they were executing a practice autorotation to a powered recovery. As the pilots maneuvered the helicopter during the flare, the tail rotor assembly struck the ground. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N234SM
- Reported as
- Hiller 12C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 55-4101
- Airframe hours
- 3,289
- Engine
- Franklin 6V4-200-C33, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven R. Gann
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 25, 1995 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- CRE
- Airport
- CRE · Grand Strand Airport, runway 5, 6,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,126 total · 200 in this make and model · 1,932 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.