Pilot Debrief

BELL OH58C near Gainesville, FL — 2019-06-25

Final reportERA19LA206
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Date
2019-06-25
Location
Gainesville, FL, USA
Airport
GNV
Aircraft
BELL OH58C
Registration
N911GV
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The flight instructor's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during a simulated forced landing autorotation, which resulted in pylon whirl that substantially damaged the helicopter.

NTSB narrative

During an night instructional flight in a helicopter, the flight instructor was demonstrating a straight-in autorotation to landing following a simulated engine failure. At touchdown, the heels of the landing skids touched first and the helicopter “rocked” forward, which was followed by several more “throws” in a counterclockwise motion that became progressively more “violent.” The instructor described that the helicopter was experiencing pylon whirl and continued to manipulate the flight controls during the ground run until helicopter came to rest. The helicopter’s tailboom was substantially damaged during the accident sequence.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Instructor could have aborted the landing to prevent pylon whirl.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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