- Date
- February 28, 2007, 15:25 local (23:25 UTC)
- Place
- Lakeview, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N330KWEurocopter France SA330J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Portland FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070228002709A
- Case key
- 65388
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 dual student's failure to extend the landing gear during a simulated single-engine forced landing, and the flight instructor's failure to take remedial action to keep the aircraft from touching the runway surface without the landing gear extended.
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 simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, the dual student forgot to extend the landing gear, and since the instructor did not notice the gear was still retracted, he did not take remedial action. Therefore, the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook up into the airframe bulkhead structure in the area of the left hand transverse fuel tank. After he realized what had happened, the instructor pilot took control of the aircraft, lifted it off of the runway, lowered the landing gear, and set it back down on the wheels. They then shut the aircraft down and inspected for damage.
Factual narrative
On February 28, 2007, approximately 1525 Pacific standard time, the belly of a Eurocopter SA330J helicopter, N330KW, impacted the runway surface at Lake County Airport, Lakeview, Oregon. The instructor pilot and his student were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned by Sky Cats Puma Corporation, and operated under lease by Evergreen Helicopters International, Inc., sustained substantial damage. The local 14 CFR part 91 dual instructional flight, which had been airborne for about 65 minutes, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the instructor pilot, during a simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, the dual student forgot to extend the landing gear, and since the instructor did not notice the gear was still retracted, he did not take remedial action. Therefore, the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook up into the airframe bulkhead structure in the area of the left hand transverse fuel tank. After he realized what had happened, the instructor pilot took control of the aircraft, lifted it off of the runway, lowered the landing gear, and set it back down on the wheels. They then shut the aircraft down and inspected for damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N330KW
- Reported as
- Eurocopter France SA330J
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1418
- Engine
- Turbomeca Turmo IV C, 1,260 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Evergreen Helicopters International, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Sky Cats Puma Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KLKV · Lakeview, OR
- Destination
- KLKV
- Airport
- KLKV · Lakeview, runway 16, 5,306 × 100 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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,400 total · 500 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 30 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.