Pilot Debrief

HELICOPTERES GUIMBAL CABRI G2 near Cahokia, IL — 2023-04-09

Final reportCEN23LA150
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Date
2023-04-09
Location
Cahokia, IL, USA
Airport
CPS
Aircraft
HELICOPTERES GUIMBAL CABRI G2
Registration
N372PA
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The lack of proper attachment of the cyclic control that resulted in a loss of control during a landing approach and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the improper maintenance performed.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the improper maintenance performed.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor stated that during an instructional flight he lost left cyclic control during an approach for landing. The student pilot’s right cyclic controls continued to function, and the flight instructor coached him on cyclic control inputs to maintain control of the helicopter. The student’s cyclic control became unresponsive to control inputs during the attempted landing and the helicopter impacted the ground resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor blades. Postaccident examination of the flight control system revealed that retaining hardware for the pins used to attach the left cyclic control were not installed. Maintenance personnel were unable to provided information regarding previous maintenance performed on the cyclic controls. The left cyclic control did not have any deformation/damage.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Instructor could have aborted landing when cyclic control issues began.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents6

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