- Date
- December 2, 2021, 12:58 local (18:58 UTC)
- Place
- St. Louis, MO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N911PHMcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: 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
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20211202019209A
- Case key
- 104364
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 failure to apply power during the recovery procedure for the practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.
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 reported that he intended to perform a straight-in autorotation that would terminate with a power on recovery procedure over the runway. The autorotation was performed without incident; however, the pilot did not advance the engine power in time for the recovery. The helicopter impacted the runway hard and came to rest upright on the skids. During the impact sequence, the main rotor blades contacted and severed the tail boom, which resulted in substantial damage. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engine that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N911PH
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0217E
- Built
- 1987
- Airframe hours
- 16,203
- Engine
- Rolls Royce 250, 420 hp, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- St Louis County Police Department
- Registered owner
- St Louis County Police Department
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 1, 2021 · 3 hours before
- Airport
- SUS · Spirit of St Louis Airport, runway 26L, 7,485 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 24, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,330 total · 1,257 in this make and model · 1,262 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 8, 2021
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 55 total · 0 in this make and model · 16 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KSUS
- METAR
- KSUS 021854Z 25006KT 10SM CLR 21/03 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP135 T02110028
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 18, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.7 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.