# NTSB ERA13LA308: Hiller UH-12A, N6331D, Florence, AL, June 29, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 29, 2013, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Florence, AL - Coordinates: 34.893054, -87.584167 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8931&lon=-87.5842&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Tailstrike](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report June 2, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 87333 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA13LA308 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87333/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87333 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13LA308 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter while landing, which resulted in a tail rotor ground strike and collision with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: pitch control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022/cases.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 526 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022/cases.md) - [Experience/qualifications: total experience](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Student/instructed pilot; cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015/cases.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 126 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Tailstrike](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091) (defining event); cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091/sequence.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 124 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Hiller UH-12A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=4360104), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot was attempting to land the helicopter on a trailer in order to transport it to another location. A witness reported that, while the helicopter was hovering above the trailer, it started to drift backwards. Subsequently, the nose of the helicopter rose, the tail struck the ground, the helicopter rolled to the right, the main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter came to rest on the right side of the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On June 29, 2013, about 1130 central daylight time, a Hiller UH-12A, N6331D, impacted terrain during an attempted landing on a tow trailer near Florence, Alabama. The student pilot was seriously injured. The helicopter was registered to River Cleaning Inc., and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from a parking area in the vicinity of the tow trailer just prior to the accident.According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who conducted an interview with an eyewitness, the student pilot was attempting to land the helicopter on the trailer in order to transport it to another location. He stated that the helicopter was hovering above the trailer when it started to drift backward. As the helicopter moved back, the nose of the helicopter started to rise and the tail subsequently struck the ground. The helicopter then rolled to the right, the main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter came to rest on the right side of the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage. According to the FAA inspector, numerous attempts to interview the pilot were unsuccessful as the pilot has no recollection of the events surrounding the accident and that the pilot's flight experience was about 38 total flight hours. Examination of the helicopter at the accident location revealed that it had come to rest on its right side in the immediate vicinity of the trailer. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor blades, skids, and fuselage. No mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities were noted that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6331D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6331D), registered now, S/N 213 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: HILLER UH-12A - Registry model: [Hiller UH-12A](https://openairdocs.org/model/hiller-uh-12a) (registry code 4360104) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Franklin 6V4 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/franklin-6v4-series) (registry code 27033, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 213 - Engines: FRANKLIN 6V4 SERIES 210 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: River Cleaning Inc - Registered owner: River Cleaning Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Florence, AL - Destination: Florence, AL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: serious; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; flight hours: 38 total, 38 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 29.76 inHg - Observed at: MSL, 9 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130629011939A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130629011939A), Jun 29, 2013: Hiller UH-12A, Florence, AL, Substantial damage. Pilot was operating helicopter to load it on a tow trailer. Witness stated the helicopter was about to touchdown on the trailer surface, it began a slow drift… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 24, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87333. 719 KB in all. - FAA Inspector Statement (item 1, .PDF, 215 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407726&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Memorandum for Record - FAA Inspector Telephone Interview (item 2, .PDF, 104 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407735&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20-%20FAA%20Inspector%20Telephone%20Interview-Master.PDF - Muscle Shoals Weather (item 3, .PDF, 115 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407737&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Muscle%20Shoals%20Weather-Master.PDF - Photo 1: Front View of the Helicopter at Rest (Courtesy of the FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 142 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407730&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20Front%20View%20of%20the%20Helicopter%20at%20Rest%20(Courtesy%20of%20the%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photo 2: Rear View of the Helicopter at Rest (Courtesy of the FAA) (item 5, .PDF, 143 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407731&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%3A%20Rear%20View%20of%20the%20Helicopter%20at%20Rest%20(Courtesy%20of%20the%20FAA)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.