- Date
- June 26, 2010, 10:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Charles, LA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N191EHAerospatiale AS350
- Defining event
- Autorotation: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Baton Rouge FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100626043479A
- Case key
- 76459
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 flight instructor’s inadvertent entry into ground resonance when demonstrating a hydraulic failure running landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's and instructor pilot's failure to control the drift and rate of descent during the practice maneuvers.
Findings · 5
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 flight instructor was preparing the commercial-rated pilot for a check ride in the helicopter equipped with skid-type landing gear. During one of three running landings to a touchdown, the flight instructor was demonstrating a practice hydraulic failure running landing and the helicopter started to get into ground resonance as he initially touched down. The flight instructor increased power to become briefly airborne and continued the maneuver to a normal practice hydraulic failure running landing. After the ground resonance experience, the flight instructor continued the flight training session for an additional 45 minutes and conducted another hydraulic failure running landing, several slope landings, and five hovering autorotations. Two of the hovering autorotations were described as rough, with an undesired drift to the front left. The flight instructor then left the airport where they had been practicing and returned to their home base airport where they conducted two straight-in autorotations and three 180-degree autorotations, all to a power recovery. After shut-down procedures were completed the two pilots were surprised when they discovered substantial damage, with buckling around the full circumference of the forward part of the tail boom and a crack in the skin at the 6 o’clock position. The flight instructor stated that he thought the damage occurred when they were conducting hovering autorotations. The two pilots reported that they were not injured.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor was preparing the commercial rated pilot for a check ride in the helicopter equipped with skid type landing gear. During one of three running landings to a touchdown, the flight instructor was demonstrating a practice hydraulic failure running landing and the helicopter started to get into ground resonance as he initially touched down. The flight instructor increased power to become briefly airborne and continued the maneuver to a normal practice hydraulic failure running landing. After the ground resonance experience, the flight instructor continued the flight training session for an additional 45 minutes and conducted another hydraulic failure running landing, several slope landings, and five hovering autorotations. Two of the hovering autorotations were described as rough, with an undesired drift to the front left. The flight instructor then left the airport where they had been practicing and returned to their home base airport where they conducted two straight in autorotations, and three 180-degree autorotations, all to a power recovery. After shut-down procedures were completed the two pilots were surprised when they discovered damage to the helicopter. The helicopter was substantially damaged with buckling around the full circumference of the forward part of the tail boom and a crack in the skin at the 6 o’clock position. The flight instructor stated that he thought the damage occurred when they were conducting hovering autorotations. The two pilots reported that they were not injured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N191EH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS350 (B2)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2505
- Airframe hours
- 8,980
- Engine
- Turbomeca Arriel 1, 732 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- ERA Helicopters LLC, doing business as ERA Helicopters
- Registered owner
- ERA Helicopters LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · June 8, 2010 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- LCH · Lake Charles, LA
- Destination
- LCH · Lake Charles, LA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- CWF · Chennault International Airpor, runway 15, 10,701 × 200 ft, concrete
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 4, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,383 total · 655 in this make and model · 2,258 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,185 total · 6 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- CWF
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 30, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.