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| Date: | Monday 30 September 2024 |
| Time: | 11:30 UTC |
| Type: |  MD Helicopters MD 500E (369E) |
| Owner/operator: | City Of Houston Police Department |
| Registration: | N8372F |
| MSN: | 0488E |
| Year of manufacture: | 1991 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 22070 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Wolfe Air Park (3T2), Manvel, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Wolfe Air Park, TX (3T2) |
| Wolfe Air Park, TX (3T2) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During an instructional flight, the operator reported that during the practice autorotation, the pilot receiving instruction held the flare for too long and did not level the helicopter before touchdown. The helicopter landed hard and struck the tail on the ground which resulted in substantial damage to the empennage, tail boom, and tail rotor drive system. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions of failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper recovery from a practice autorotation which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the instructor's inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN24LA377
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195232
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=8372F
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N8372F/history/20240930/1640Z/3T2/3T2
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 7 September 2023 | N8372F | City Of Houston Police Department | 0 | Houston Southwest Airport (AXH/KAXH), Arcola, TX | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Oct-2024 13:04 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 04-Oct-2024 07:25 | Captain Adam | Updated [Nature, Source, Damage, Accident report, ] |
| 04-Oct-2024 19:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Date, ] |
| 01-Mar-2025 12:49 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 02-Mar-2025 16:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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