- Date
- January 31, 1986, 06:23 local (10:23 UTC)
- Place
- Las Piedras, PR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N513HCAerospatiale 350-B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860131003769A
- Case key
- 31572
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
Pilot stated that while flaring to enter a hover to reverse direction for takeoff the tail rotor guard struck the ground and separated. The helicopter was nosed over forward and as it was flared a second time the tail rotor struck the ground causing loss of control. The main rotor then contacted the ground and the aircraft came to rest upright.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N513HC
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale 350-B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1440
- Airframe hours
- 1,020
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARRIEL 1, 478 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lass Piedras Construction Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 1, 1985 · 86 hours before
- Airport
- Boqueron, runway 30, 1,300 × 120 ft, asphalt
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,494 total · 469 in this make and model · 1,264 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 13 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJU, 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.