- Date
- December 14, 2021, 13:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Bridgeport, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N862YBBell Helicopter Textron Canada 407
- Defining event
- Autorotation: 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
- 20211214021079A
- Case key
- 104415
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 maintain adequate main rotor RPM during an autorotation which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper placement of the throttle during the initial practice power-on recovery autorotation.
Findings · 4
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 elected to practice a couple power recovery autorotations before landing at his destination. The first autorotation was uneventful. During the second autorotation he decreased the throttle to what he thought was the idle position. Shortly thereafter, he received an “engine out” audio warning. He glanced at the throttle position on the collective and observed that he accidentally had the throttle in the off position instead of the idle position. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but with the ground quickly approaching, he elected to perform an engine out autorotation to the ground. He flared about 35 feet above the ground. About 7 feet above the ground, the main rotor RPM became too slow, and the helicopter dropped to the ground. The rear skids impacted hard; the helicopter rocked forward then came to rest on its left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor system, fuselage, tail boom, and the tail rotor system. The pilot reported there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N862YB
- Reported as
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 54837
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 293
- Engine
- Rolls Royce 250-C47F/4, 700 hp, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Oregon Airbus LLC
- Registered owner
- Oregon Airbus LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 13, 2021 · 293 hours before
- Departed
- AFW · Fort Worth, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- XBP · Bridgeport Municipal Airport, runway 18, 5,005 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 65
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 5, 2021
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,596 total · 196 in this make and model · 4,500 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 9 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- KXBP
- METAR
- KXBP 141955Z AUTO 21009G16KT 10SM SCT032 24/15 A3010 RMK AO2 T02370150
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 28, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.2 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.