Pilot Debrief

BELL 206B near West Palm Beach, FL — 2014-10-25

Final reportERA15LA060
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Date
2014-10-25
Location
West Palm Beach, FL, USA
Airport
FD38
Aircraft
BELL 206B
Registration
N418SV
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

A hard landing for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

NTSB narrative

The pilot, who was also the owner of the helicopter, reported that, after uneventfully completing a local flight, she observed a crack in the left skid. Further examination by a mechanic revealed additional substantial damage consistent with a hard landing. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger stated that no hard landings occurred during the local flight. The pilot also reported that, 2 days before the accident, a flight instructor had conducted two instructional flights in the accident helicopter at a different airport. According to the flight instructor and the two pilots receiving instruction on those flights, no hard landings occurred during the two flights, and they observed no damage during the two preflight and postflight inspections. Additionally, following those flights, the pilot repositioned the helicopter back to its home airport and did not notice any damage during the preflight or postflight inspection. The pilot added that the helicopter was not flown between the repositioning flight and the local flight after which the damage was discovered. The investigation could not determine when the damage occurred or who was flying the helicopter when it did.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Inspect helicopter for damage after repositioning flight before sightseeing flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents7

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