- Date
- July 29, 2026, 10:08 local (15:08 UTC)
- Place
- Tuscumbia, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N29AEBell 206L-3
- Defining event
- Landing: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 15, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 203515
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 keep the tail rotor clear of an obstacle while attempting to land.
Findings · 3
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 was making a right pedal turn in an attempt to land on the helipad when the tail rotor struck a standpipe on the fuel farm. The helicopter began to become unstable, but the pilot immediately lowered the collective and the helicopter landed upright on the helipad. Neither the pilot nor the two crew members were injured. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed damage to the tail rotor blades and substantial damage to the tail rotor gear box. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29AE
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 51191
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 20,371
- Engine
- Rolls Royce RR-250-C30P, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 135
- Operator
- Air Evac Ems Inc, doing business as Air Evac Lifeteam
- Registered owner
- Air Evac Ems Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 27, 2026
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Satellite tracking 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 5, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,888.6 total · 752 in this make and model · 2,823 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 3.9 in the last 30 days · 0.2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- MSL, 4.7 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 15, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.8 MB in all.