- Date
- June 19, 1990, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Paradise, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N115SDBell TH13T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900619022929A
- Case key
- 23140
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 failure of the pilot to properly execute the autorotation landing.
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 cross country flight the aircraft experienced loss of engine power. The landing resulted in the catastrophic collapse of the landing gear. The helicopter was not of a standard configuration, it was rigged with early technology ridig floats. These floats drastically change the flight envelope of the helicopter especially during emergency procedures such as autorotations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N115SD
- Reported as
- Bell TH13T
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3461
- Engine
- Lycoming TVO435-25-A, 278 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Custom Air, doing business as Custom Air
- Registered owner
- Customer Air Brewton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,931 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.