Accident McDonnell Douglas MD 500E (369E) N526BH,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 284850
 
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Date:Sunday 27 May 2007
Time:09:45 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic H500 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
McDonnell Douglas MD 500E (369E)
Owner/operator:Air Finance Corp C/o The Flying M Hunt Club
Registration: N526BH
MSN: 0467E
Year of manufacture:1991
Engine model:Allison 250-C20 SER
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Yerington, Nevada -   United States of America
Phase: Unknown
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Yerington, NV (KFMR)
Destination airport:Yerington, NV (KFMR)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The helicopter landed hard while practicing a low altitude engine failure and autorotation. According to the CFI, the student had rolled off the throttle to flight idle in preparation for the maneuver. As the helicopter descended the CFI heard the engine spool down, but did not observe a split between the rotor and engine tachometer needles. He realized that the student had not completely bottomed out the collective, and he immediately took over the flight controls. He attempted to regain some of the decayed rotor rpm's by rolling the throttle to full flight rpm, lowering the collective, and raising the nose to build inertia in the blades; however, he realized that the engine did not have enough time to spool up. He then reduced the throttle to flight idle, leveled the skids, and used the pedals to control the yaw in preparation for the touchdown. The helicopter landed hard with forward speed, and came to rest upright. The CFI reported that the maneuver had been initiated at 100 feet agl, with a targeted recovery of 20 feet agl. The CFI said there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the helicopter.

Probable Cause: The failure of the student and instructor to maintain an adequate main rotor rpm, and the instructor's inadequate in-flight supervision while conducting a low-level simulated emergency procedure, which resulted in a hard landing.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: LAX07CA177
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 3 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB LAX07CA177

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
01-Oct-2022 09:40 ASN Update Bot Added

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