- Date
- August 27, 2023, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mosby, MO · On airport ramp area
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8178HHiller UH-12A
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight
- 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
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20230827019679A
- Case key
- 192949
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 rotor rpm which resulted in a loss of control and impact with terrain.
Findings · 3
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 during a hover taxi, he inadvertently allowed the engine rpm to decrease. He increased the throttle, but the helicopter landed hard on its skids in the grass and the tail rotor impacted the ground. The ground strike resulted in substantial damage to the tail rotor blades and tailboom assembly. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot noted that a better scan of the engine instruments could have prevented the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8178H
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 178
- Built
- 1950
- Airframe hours
- 2,850
- Engine
- Franklin 6V-335 SERIES, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rotor Wing Nuts LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 2022
- Airport
- GPH · Midwest National Air Center Airport, runway 18/36, 5,502 × 100 ft, asphalt
- 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 5, 2023
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 509 total · 21.8 in this make and model · 242.8 as pilot in command · 23.5 in the last 90 days · 0.7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KGPH
- METAR
- KGPH 272315Z AUTO 04007KT 10SM SCT047 SCT055 25/13 A3001 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 21, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.5 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.
Other investigations on N8178H · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.