- Date
- August 12, 1987, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- New Iberia, LA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2764FBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 2, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870812046019A
- Case key
- 22417
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
Crew performing practice touchdown autorotations during a trng flt. On 4th autorotation, acft touched down with excess grnd speed and skidded for approx 75' on the wet, soft grass. When crew applied power back to flight RPM they heard a grinding sound and felt a vibration. Visual insp revealed that the tailboom had separated aft of the attachments due to resonance. This acft is subject to resonance if rotor RPM is allowed to decay below 70% during touchdown autorotations or during lengthy ground runs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2764F
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45279
- Airframe hours
- 6,752
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Petroleum Helicopters,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Petroleum Helicopters, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 28, 1987 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- LFT · Lafayette, LA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- ARA · Acadiana Reg., runway 16, 5,000 × 200 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
- 39
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,250 total · 3,227 in this make and model · 5,965 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 88 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ARA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.