- Date
- December 20, 1985, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hurst, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1069QBell BH206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851220063209A
- Case key
- 21924
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The instructor plt was demonstrating an autorotation from the 'top of the height-velocity' curve. The CFI zeroed the airspeed and entered the autorotation at an alt of aprx 400 ft AGL. The acft touched down hard, spreading the skids, severing the tail boom and damaging the rotor blades.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1069Q
- Reported as
- Bell BH206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45341
- Airframe hours
- 2,347
- Engine
- Allison 250-C23, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Bell Helicopter Textron
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 1, 1985 · 35 hours before
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- East Bell Practice, runway 35, 2,000 × 75 ft, macadam
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,683 total · 6,556 in this make and model · 9,458 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N1069Q · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.