- Date
- June 5, 2023, 15:47 local (19:47 UTC)
- Place
- Orlando, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N27UKBell 206B
- Defining event
- Autorotation: 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
- 20230605010779A
- Case key
- 192379
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 landing flare during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
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
During a test flight following a maintenance event, the pilot of the helicopter took off and navigated to a landing zone near the airport. He conducted a normal landing and hover flight without incident for about 5 minutes. The pilot then took off again, climbed to about 600 ft mean sea level, and initiated a straight-in practice autorotation. About 50 ft above ground level (agl), he started the landing flare, while “simultaneously fully rolling on throttle all the way.” As the helicopter approached 15-20 ft agl, the helicopter was level, forward momentum slowed, and “it became clear the helicopter was struggling to maintain lift and we began settling.” Subsequently, he held the controls as still as possible and attempted to maintain level attitude, however, the helicopter landed hard in the grass. The tail boom sustained substantial damage. There pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N27UK
- Reported as
- Bell 206B (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1871
- Built
- 1975
- Airframe hours
- 19,324
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, 400 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Operator
- The Heli Team
- Registered owner
- Orlando Aircraft Sales LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · May 17, 2023
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- ORL · Orlando Executive Airport, runway NONE, grass/turf
- Equipment
- None
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 31, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,614 total · 33 in this make and model · 2,532 as pilot in command · 99 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 14 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- ORL
- METAR
- METAR KORL 051953Z AUTO 07014G19KT 10SM SCT045 29/18 A2989 RMK AO2 SLP124 T02890183=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.4 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.