# NTSB CEN09CA584: Yates W/Lazar M Safari Helicopter, N555BB, Cedar Park, TX, September 13, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 13, 2009, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Cedar Park, TX - Coordinates: 30.520833, -97.77639 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.5208&lon=-97.7764&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern final: Part(s) separation from AC](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report March 3, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA San Antonio FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 74729 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN09CA584 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74729/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74729 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA584 ## Probable cause An in-flight separation of the tail rotor blades and the tail rotor gearbox for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Tail rotor: tail rotor blade](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046410): Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor · Failure; cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046410/cases.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 31 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046410/cases.md) - [Tail rotor: tail rotor head](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046420): Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046420/cases.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046420/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) - [Approach-VFR pattern final: Part(s) separation from AC](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338) (defining event); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338/sequence.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 563 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Part(s) separation from AC](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338/sequence.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 563 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/338/sequence.md) - [Autorotation: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Autorotation: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=05610VI), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis The helicopter was approximately 400 feet above the ground on a normal straight-in landing to a paved runway. At an airspeed of 45 miles per hour the pilot heard a snap and the helicopter began to spin. The pilot entered an autorotation and said he was concentrating on just “trying to keep the helicopter as flat as possible”. The helicopter struck the trees in a nose-down attitude. There was no fuel spill and no postcrash fire. The helicopter was substantially damaged and the pilot, who was the only occupant, sustained minor injuries. The Texas State Trooper who responded said that the tail rotor gearbox was missing from the area of the main wreckage. By the next day residents in the area had found a single tail rotor blade and, several hundred feet away, they found the other tail rotor blade still attached to the tail rotor hub and tail rotor gearbox. Photographs of the separated tail rotor blade show that the skin had ripped away from all three blade grip bolt holes. A postcrash examination of the helicopter failed to reveal why the tail rotor blades and gearbox separated from the aircraft. ## Factual narrative The helicopter was at approximately 400 feet above the ground on a normal straight-in landing to a paved runway. At an airspeed of 45 miles per hour the pilot heard a snap and the helicopter began to spin. The pilot entered an autorotation and said he was concentrating on just “trying to keep the helicopter as flat as possible”. The helicopter struck the trees in a nose down attitude. There was no fuel spill and no post crash fire. The helicopter was substantially damaged and the pilot, who was the only occupant, sustained minor injuries. The Texas State Trooper that responded to the accident scene said the tail rotor gear box was missing from the area of the main wreckage. By the next day residents in the area had found a single tail rotor blade and several hundred feet away they found the other tail rotor blade still attached to the tail rotor hub and tail rotor gearbox. Photographs of the separated tail rotor blade show that the skin had ripped away from all three blade grip bolt holes. A post-crash examination of the helicopter failed to reveal why the tail rotor blades and gearbox separated from the aircraft. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N555BB](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N555BB-2013-08-13), registration cancelled 2013-08-13, S/N BB2077, built 2001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: YATES W/LAZAR M Safari Helicopter - Registry model: [Yates W/Lazar M SAFARI HELICOPTER](https://openairdocs.org/model/yates-w-lazar-m-safari-helicopter) (registry code 05610VI) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter, amateur-built - Serial number: BB2077 - Airframe hours: 135 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-B2B 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, January 18, 2009 - Departed: 40XS, Cedar Park, TX - Destination: 40XS, Cedar Park, TX - Airport: 40XS, Breakaway Park Airport, runway 15, 2,900 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; injuries: minor; private; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review December 1, 2007; seat: left; flight hours: 254 total, 155 in this make and model, 225 as pilot in command, 15 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 310° at 5 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,000 ft broken - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 29.79 inHg - Observed at: KRYW, 9 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20090913017729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090913017729A), Sep 13, 2009: Yatesw SAFARIHELICO, Cedar Park, TX, Destroyed. On final to landing one tail rotor blade separated and caused the tail rotor gear box to also separate from the helicopter. The helicopter landed in trees… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 3, 2009, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74729. 309 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 309 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319758&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.