- Date
- August 20, 1982, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Miami, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N366DJBell 47G-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 20, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820820041719A
- Case key
- 71681
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
The pilot reported that while he was practicing an autorotative landing, he started to flare a bit too high. He stated that the helicopter touched down harder than normal and the main rotor blades flexed downward and swept across the tail boom. Subsequently, the tail rotor drive shaft failed at the aft end and the main rotor and tail rotor blades were damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N366DJ
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 717
- Airframe hours
- 6,458
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Matthew A. Braun
- Registered owner
- Helicopter Of Key West
- Departed
- OPF · Opa Locka, FL
- Destination
- OPF · Opa Locka, FL
- Airport
- OPF · Opa Locka
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
- 34
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,668 total · 75 in this make and model · 112 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Temperature
- 190 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N366DJ · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.