- Date
- February 9, 2022, 16:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Shrewsbury, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N64741Hiller UH-12E4
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: 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
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220209002829A
- Case key
- 104621
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 control during the descent which resulted in a hard landing.
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
According to the pilot, during a short local flight while approaching to land, he encountered a descent rate that was unsuitable for landing. He attempted to correct for the rate of descent but was unsuccessful after pulling full collective pitch. The helicopter impacted the ground and rolled on to its right side, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. He stated that he may have encountered a condition called “settling with power” during his approach to land due to the winds. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64741
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E4 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2189
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 150
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 18, 2020 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- OW3 · Churchville, MD
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 0P2 · Shoestring Aviation Airfield, runway 06U, 1,000 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 30, 2021
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 155 total · 155 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 5 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 20 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 25, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 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.
Other investigations on N64741 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.