- Date
- November 11, 2024, 10:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Lago Vista, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N1243YBell Helicopter Textron Canada 505
- 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
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20241111019889A
- Case key
- 199574
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 improper recovery from a practice autorotation which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 1
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
While conducting an instructional flight, the flight instructor reported that he and the student pilot were practicing straight-in autorotation approaches in the helicopter with a power recovery. The helicopter was configured with a throttle control switch rather than a twistable throttle control. During the fifth autorotation approach, the flight instructor forgot to move the throttle control from “Idle” to “Fly” prior to flaring the helicopter. The helicopter descended and landed hard on the runway. During the hard landing, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1243Y
- Reported as
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 65137
- Built
- 2018
- Airframe hours
- 366.4
- Engine
- Safran Arrius 2R, 492 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Turbines Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 10, 2024
- Airport
- RYW · Lago Vista Tx/Rusty Allen, runway 33, 3,800 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 15, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 9,160 total · 83.8 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 4.4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 7.3 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- KRYW
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 12, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.4 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.