- Date
- January 22, 2021, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Queen Creek, AZ · Rittenhouse Helicopter Practice Area
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N90TGMcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of tail rotor effectiveness
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- MD Helicopters, Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210122002339A
- Case key
- 102546
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 uncoordinated flight control inputs while entering a hover, which lead to a loss of aircraft control which resulted in the left skid making contact with the ground, causing the helicopter to roll on its side.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during a practice approach to an off-airport location, he increased the collective and applied left pedal to bring the helicopter to a hover. The helicopter nosed right and continued to rotate as he attempted to stop it by applying left pedal. Subsequently, the helicopter encountered a tail wind situation, and the rate of turn became excessive, as he continued to attempt to arrest the spin. Shortly thereafter, the left skid caught the ground and bent inward, causing the helicopter to roll on its left side. The fuselage and main rotor blades were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90TG
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 383E
- Built
- 1990
- Airframe hours
- 2,411
- Engine
- Rolls Royce C20 B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Peoples Properties LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 9, 2021
- Departed
- SDL · Scottsdala, AZ
- Destination
- E89 · Kearney, AZ
- Airport
- (AZ38) · Rittenhouse Army Heliport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 20, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 20,267 total · 1 in this make and model · 12,357 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KIWA, 16 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.