- Date
- December 2, 1991, 17:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Medina, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N67065Hiller-Osborn UH-12D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 8, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911202055689A
- Case key
- 18424
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 improper flare during touchdown.
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
An airplane certificated private pilot was performing a normal landing approach on the first supervised solo flight in a helicopter. The pilot used excessive aft cyclic during the landing flare, resulting in the main rotor blades striking the tail rotor drive shaft and tailboom.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N67065
- Reported as
- Hiller-Osborn UH-12D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1023
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-AC, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Terrell M. Davis, doing business as T. M. Davis Construction
- Registered owner
- Terrell M. Davis
- Airport
- NONE · San Geronimo, runway 18, 3,000 × 50 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 437 total · 18 in this make and model · 387 as pilot in command · 61 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N67065 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.