- Date
- August 12, 1985, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Buckeye, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N537Aerospatiale SF3130
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850812040519A
- Case key
- 24796
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
During a hover in a confined area the plt misinterpeted his passg signal to move to a diferent location as a signal that the tail rotor was in danger. The plt used abrupt control movements that resulted in the toe of a skid hooking into a wire fence. The helicopter rolled over after the plt attempted to abort the lndg, according to the plts report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N537
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SF3130
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1150
- Airframe hours
- 826
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARTOUSTE IIIB, 562 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Helicopter Assoc. Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 27, 1985 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- GYR · Litchfield, AZ
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
- 60
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 7,300 total · 300 in this make and model · 7,150 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 1 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 99 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LUF, 25 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.