- Date
- February 18, 2026, 18:15 local (Feb 19, 2026, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Graford, TX · Private Property Near: 5343 south farm to market 4, palo pinto , texas 76484
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N940BHRobinson Helicopter R66
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Roll over
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA / FSDO
- Case key
- 202454
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 sufficient rotor speed during a practice autorotation to soft terrain which resulted in a loss of control and roll over.
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 departed for a short flight to his own private landing area. While approaching to land, he initiated a practice autorotation toward the hangar. During the descent, all indications appeared normal. As the pilot started the flare and increased the throttle, the low rotor RPM warning activated. He continued the flare to reduce forward speed and the low rotor RPM warning sounded again. At this point, the pilot elected to perform a run-on landing. He lowered the nose of the helicopter to level the skids. The ground was soft due to recent rain and after the helicopter skidded about 15 feet, the left skid dug into the soft ground, and the helicopter tilted forward, and the main rotor blades contacted the ground. The helicopter rolled onto its left side and the tail boom separated which resulted in substantial damage to the main and tail rotor blades. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the helicopter which would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N940BH
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R66
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1192
- Built
- 2022
- Airframe hours
- 582.89
- Engine
- Rolls-Royc 250-C300/A1, 300 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Brazos Vortex LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 2, 2025
- Departed
- N/A · Mineral Wells, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PVT · Private Airstrip
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Video recording device, ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Auto-pilot
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 7, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,584.2 total · 665.5 in this make and model · 1,553.7 as pilot in command · 44.8 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.64 inHg
- Observed at
- MWL, 13 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KMWL 182353Z AUTO 19012KT 10SM CLR 22/01 A2964 RMK AO2 SLP029 T02220006 10261 20211 56021