- Date
- September 29, 2021, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kinston, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N370NCEurocopter AS 350 B3
- Defining event
- Landing: 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
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- NTSB, North Carolina Forest Service, Airbus Helicopters
- Case key
- 104035
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 buckling of the tail boom as a result of a hard landing event of undetermined time and location.
Findings · 4
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 reported that he was on a pre-checkride flight and was conducting standard maneuvers as required by the commercial helicopter practical test standards. The flight was uneventful and lasted about an hour. He stated that, during the flight, “we had no hard landings or turbulence;” however, on the postflight checks he immediately noticed buckled metal on the tail boom near the fuselage attachment points. He said he noticed small dents on the bottom and sides of the tail boom when he first flew this helicopter in 2019; however, they were small and were checked pre- and postflight without signs of growth until this flight. An examination and review of the tail boom section by an Airbus representative and NTSB structural engineer noted wrinkled skin damage on the tail boom. Both Airbus and the NTSB agreed that this was very similar to cases in which the tail boom structure has been subjected to loads above the design load. As a result, the tail boom was permanently deformed and the structural strength was compromised, most likely from a hard landing event. The buckling of the lower portion of a semi-monocoque structure such as the tail boom is considered substantial damage since it adversely affects the structural strength and requires major repair or replacement. The exact time and date of the hard landing was not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N370NC
- Reported as
- Eurocopter AS 350 B3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 4379
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 1,098
- Engine
- Turbomeca Arrie2B1, 747 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Public use
- Operator
- State Of North Carolina
- Registered owner
- State Of North Carolina
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 2021 · 18 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KISO · Kingston Regional Jetport
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 30, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 6,215 total · 125 in this make and model · 6,062 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 29, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,900 total · 300 in this make and model · 2,800 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Observed at
- KISO
- METAR
- KISO 091503Z 0915/1012 23009KT 6SM -SHRA BKN015 TEMPO 0920/0923 3SM TSRA OVC020CB FM100000 VRB03KT P6SM FEW050=
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 13, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 MB in all.