- Date
- May 4, 2005, 00:01 local (05:01 UTC)
- Place
- Georgetown, TX
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9877ZBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- San Antonio, Texas
- FAA report
- 20050504012919I
- Case key
- 61501
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 improper flare resulting in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The 5,600-hour pilot reported that the helicopter experienced an uncontrolled 40-degree yaw to the right while in cruise flight at 500 feet above the ground at an airspeed of 90 knots. The uncommanded yaw was followed by a shutter and vibration within the fuselage and tail section. The pilot elected to perform a precautionary landing on a highway. During the flare and landing, the helicopter landed hard. In a follow-up interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who inspected the helicopter, the pilot added that the helicopter bounced back into the air after contacting the road, coming to rest on the edge of the road.
Factual narrative
On May 4, 2005, approximately 1030 central daylight time, a single-engine Bell 206L-1 helicopter, N9877Z, was substantially damaged during a hard landing during a precautionary landing near Georgetown, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot and five passengers were uninjured. The helicopter was owned and operated by Crystal Fingers Corporation of Georgetown, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the training flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The local flight departed the Georgetown Municipal Airport (GTU), near Georgetown, Texas, at 1415.
According to a written statement submitted by the 5,600-hour pilot, while in cruise flight at an estimated 500 feet AGL and while holding an airspeed of 90 knots, the helicopter experienced an "uncontrolled 40-degree yaw to the right, following a shutter and vibration in the fuselage and tail section." The pilot elected to execute a precautionary landing on a highway. During the landing flare, the helicopter landed hard with a slight running landing.
In a follow-up interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who inspected the helicopter, the pilot added that the helicopter bounced back into the air after the hard landing on the road, coming to rest on the edge of the road.
Post-accident examination of the helicopter revealed damage to the outter portions of each main rotor blade, the tail rotor drive, the bearing journals, tail rotor drive shaft fairing, vertical fin, and the tail boom assembly,
At 1455, the automated weather observing system at GTU, approximately 2 miles from the accident site, reported wind from 190 degrees at 4 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, few clouds at 4,800 feet, temperature 73 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.19 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9877Z
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45339
- Airframe hours
- 3,661
- Engine
- Allison 250-C30P, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- CFC Aviation
- Registered owner
- CFC Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 1, 2005 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- Georgetown, TX
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 5,600 total · 200 in this make and model · 150 in the last 90 days · 215 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- KGTU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.