- Date
- March 19, 1990, 10:35 local (16:35 UTC)
- Place
- Pearland, TX
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5016FBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900319004809A
- Case key
- 23116
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
Dynamic rollover resultant from improper takeoff techniques used by the rated pilot, and inadequate supervision by the company check pilot.
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
During a company evaluation flight, the instructor pilot directed the rated student pilot to take off from a sloping area to a hover. The instructor pilot was tuning the radios and did not monitor the actions of the rated student pilot. The aircraft began to drift right and aft, and the right skid contacted the terrain. This resulted in a dynamic rollover to the right and subsequent main rotor blade contact with the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5016F
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2620
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Houston Helicopter, Inc
- Registered owner
- Notlef Inc.
- Departed
- TX10
- Airport
- TX10 · Skyway Manor
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
- 52
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 16,671 total · 5,056 in this make and model · 16,212 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 41 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- HOU, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.