ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 285542
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 October 2008 |
| Time: | 17:40 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 |
| Owner/operator: | United States Customs And Border Protection |
| Registration: | N172AE |
| MSN: | 3839 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2004 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1590 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Blaine, Washington -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Bellingham Airport, WA (BLI/KBLI) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During an annual helicopter proficiency evaluation flight, the flight instructor told the commercial pilot to conduct manual governor operations and the flight instructor then positioned the governor switch from "auto" to "man" while on the downwind leg to the runway. After performing a left 360-degree turn, the commercial pilot initiated a normal approach to the runway with the intention of performing a run-on landing. The commercial pilot stated that as the helicopter descended through 20 feet above ground level (agl), he attempted to increase throttle and collective to arrest the rate of descent when it "felt like the bottom fell out" and the helicopter landed hard on the asphalt runway surface in a slight nose high attitude. The flight instructor reported that he heard the aural low rotor RPM horn sound and noticed the rotor RPM was slowing through 350 rpm as the helicopter was descending through about 20 feet agl. The instructor stated that before he could react to correct the situation the helicopter struck the ground. Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the tail boom was partially bent and one of the main rotor blades was damaged. No preimpact mechanical anomalies with the helicopter were reported by either pilot.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain main rotor rpm, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the flight instructor's delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision of the flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR09TA001
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Oct-2022 11:19 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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