ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 174319
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| Date: | Tuesday 20 January 2004 |
| Time: | 09:50 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Petroleum Helicopters (PHI) |
| Registration: | N970AE |
| MSN: | 3235 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Mesa, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Phoenix, AZ (PHX) |
| Falcon Field, AZ (FFZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter landed hard and rolled over during a practice autorotation. The purpose of the flight was for the flight instructor to give the flying pilot the recurrent flight checks required by 14 CFR Part 135. They entered a landing pattern parallel to 22R. At 500 feet above ground level (agl) and 80 knots indicated airspeed (IAS), the flight instructor initiated an engine failure. The pilot responded appropriately and entered an autorotation with 60 knots IAS and 398 rpm rotor speed (Nr). At 60 feet agl, the pilot began the flare; however, it was more aggressive than necessary for the conditions. The pilot then lowered the nose after being advised by the flight instructor to do so. At 30 feet agl, the pilot began to increase the collective; the Nr dropped to 380. The flight instructor announced, "I am on the controls with you," and then, "I have the controls." The flight instructor leveled the helicopter and reduced the collective. About 5 feet agl, the flight instructor initiated the final collective application. As the Nr decreased, the tail rotor lost effectiveness; the helicopter yawed to the left with full right anti-torque pedal applied. The helicopter touched down and the nose was approximately 15 degrees to the left of the direction of travel. The right skid touched down and the helicopter drifted to the right. The helicopter then rolled to the right despite corrective inputs by the flight instructor. The front portion of the right skid dug into the soft turf and pivoted the helicopter forward and the main rotor blades contacted the ground. No mechanical malfunctions were reported.
Probable Cause: the pilot's excessive flare and mistimed collective application during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a loss of main rotor rpm and a subsequent hard landing. Also causal, was the flight instructor's delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision of the flight. The soft terrain was a factor.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040203X00161&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Mar-2015 13:12 | Noro | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 17:37 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Jan-2020 17:57 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
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