- Date
- September 19, 2025, 10:07 local (15:07 UTC)
- Place
- Decatur, TX · gravel road
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N831VARobinson Helicopter R44
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 17, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20250919013159A
- Case key
- 201064
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 loss of control during an off-airport, pinnacle landing, and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the instructional flight.
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 flight instructor reported the instructional flight initially proceeded without incident. The plan was for the pilot-receiving-instruction to work on off-airport, pinnacle landings. The pilot’s first steep approach was completed with no issues. They moved about one-half mile to the west, and the pilot initiated an approach to an elevated dirt road. The road had a hump in the middle, and the pilot intentionally remained light on the skids to ensure a stable set down. However, as the nose of the helicopter began to rise due to the hump in the road, the tail rotor blades contacted the ground. The pilot subsequently lost control of the helicopter. The helicopter came to rest on a descending embankment from the road. The forward portion of the left landing skid, the tail skid, and the aft portion of the tail boom separated. One tail rotor blade was separated near mid-span and located at the accident site. Damage to the outboard leading edge of one main rotor blade appeared consistent with contact to the tail boom. The flight instructor stated there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the helicopter before the accident. He also noted that becoming more familiar with the helicopter before moving to complex maneuvers such as an off-airport, pinnacle landing might have resulted in a different outcome.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N831VA
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 13477
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 3,633.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Veracity Aviation, doing business as N/A
- Registered owner
- Travel Systems LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 27, 2025 · 70.9 hours before
- Departed
- AFW · Fort Worth, TX
- Destination
- AFW · Fort Worth, TX
- Airport
- LUD · Decatur Municipal, runway N/A, dirt
- 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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 18, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 334 total · 168 in this make and model · 277 as pilot in command · 82 in the last 90 days · 48 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 28, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 150 total · 13 in this make and model · 105 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KLUD, 3 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KLUD 191515Z AUTO 09007KT 10SM CLR 25/18 A3009
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.8 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.