- Date
- September 9, 1994, 12:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Junction, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N12RFHiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940909026059A
- Case key
- 19159
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
Improper remedial action in correcting for excessive speed and sink rate during an autorotation. Factors were: high density altitude, excessive airspeed and sink rate.
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
While on a solo instructional flight, practicing towards gaining a helicopter rating, the pilot was conducting a practice autorotation to a sand bar. The airspeed and sink rate became excessive and the helicopter landed hard resulting in the main rotor blades striking the tail boom.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 1994, at 1240 mountain daylight time, a Hiller UH-12E helicopter, N12RF, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. The pilot was not injured on this local area solo instructional flight which departed Grand Junction, Colorado, at 1219. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot was not helicopter rated and was in the process of receiving instruction towards gaining that rating.
The pilot stated he was practicing autorotations to a sand bar near the Colorado River. He said his forward speed and descent rate became excessive and he applied aft cyclic to recover. Touchdown was hard and the main rotor struck the tail boom.
Density altitude at the time of the accident was approximately 7,500 feet and the wind was light and variable.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12RF
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2102
- Airframe hours
- 7,868
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Fowler, Richard L
- Registered owner
- Helicopter One
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 5, 1994 · 71 hours before
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,175 total · 12 in this make and model · 11,150 as pilot in command · 85 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 70 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GJT, 3 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.