- Date
- April 14, 1989, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Las Vegas, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N225CCAerospatiale AS-355-F2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890414011619A
- Case key
- 41012
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 pilot's poor inflight decision in selecting an unsuitable area for practice landings and the pilot's inadequate visual lookout resulting in a tail rotor strike and loss of antitorque control.
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 made a practice landing to an abandoned concrete building foundation. While at a hover after completing the landing, the pilot executed a 90 degree right pedal turn and the tail rotor struck a structural reinforcing bar that was protruding 18 inches out of the edge of the foundation. Antitorque control was lost and the acft spun 90 degrees before making a hard landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N225CC
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS-355-F2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 5372
- Airframe hours
- 69
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20F, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Circus Circus, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Circus Circus Enterprizes Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LAS · Las Vegas, NV
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 54
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,938 total · 109 in this make and model · 8,577 as pilot in command · 123 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS, 8 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.