- Date
- October 22, 2025, 23:00 local (Oct 23, 2025, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wetumpka, AL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N545HFEurocopter AS350
- Defining event
- Autorotation: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20251022020759A
- Case key
- 201935
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 recovery from a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.
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 and flight instructor were conducting training exercises in a helicopter at night using night vision goggles. The exercises included four autorotation landings from a hover, each initiated about 4 ft above ground level. The pilot reported that during the second autorotation landing, following the flight instructor’s reduction of power, he reacted prematurely and inadvertently increased the helicopter’s height above the ground, which resulted in a hard landing. Unaware that the helicopter had been damaged, the remainder of the training flight was completed uneventfully. The following day, during a preflight inspection, another flight crew discovered substantial damage to the tail boom. The pilot and the flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N545HF
- Reported as
- Eurocopter AS350 (B3)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 4123
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 8,110
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARRIEL 2B1, 747 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Haynes Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Haynes Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · October 23, 2025 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- Wetumpka, AL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- 08A · Wetumpka Municipal Airport
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Video recording device
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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- December 3, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 6,500 total · 950 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 69 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 16, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,671 total · 59 in this make and model · 1,588 as pilot in command · 94 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- MXF, 8 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KMXF 230355Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 10/08 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP195 T01030081=
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.