- Date
- October 2, 2023, 15:57 local (20:57 UTC)
- Place
- Cahokia Heights, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N354MHHelicopteres Guimbal Cabri G2
- 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 FSDO
- FAA report
- 20231002013379A
- Case key
- 193183
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 student pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control which resulted in impact with the ground.
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 operator reported that the student pilot had completed three solo touch and go landings and was returning to land on the ramp. While approaching the parking area, he was distracted by two aircraft on the ramp, and the helicopter began an uncontrolled yaw. The student pilot lowered the collective and arrested the yaw, but as the helicopter entered ground effect, he raised the collective, and the uncontrolled yaw resumed. The helicopter impacted the ground and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor, and tail rotor. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N354MH
- Reported as
- Helicopteres Guimbal Cabri G2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1149
- Built
- 2016
- Airframe hours
- 4,467.1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-J2A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ideal Aviation, doing business as Ideal Aviation
- Registered owner
- Mysky LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 21, 2023 · 27.1 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- CPS · St. Louis Downtown Airport
- 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
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 54 total · 54 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KCPS, 0.5 nm away
- METAR
- KCPS 022053Z 13003KT 10SM CLR 31/13 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP196 T03060128 56022 $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 3, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.4 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.