Falcon Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mesa, Arizona 85215
Tuesady, August 28, 2001 10:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a practice autorotation, the helicopter landed hard bending the tail boom. An examination of the helicopter indicated the damage resulted from the hard landing. The tail boom had ripped out at the aft bulkhead, and the landing skids were bent upward at the aft end. The nose of the helicopter was also damaged when the helicopter rocked forward after the hard landing. The helicopter then stopped upright on the skids with no damage to the main rotor blades. The pilot stated that he was doing a practice autorotation landing when the accident occurred. During the last landing, the helicopter "fell through" much faster than anticipated. The pilot stated that no mechanical anomalies were experienced prior to or after the accident. The temperature at the time of the accident was 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The pilot stated that in the future he will allow a higher margin for autorotation power recovery in hot conditions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper autorotation in that he failed to attain the proper descent rate resulting in a hard landing and subsequent airframe damage. A factor was the high temperature.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Mesa
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85215
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Falcon Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FFZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 1374
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1059 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KFFZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1374
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 15000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 38
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.79
Density Altitude (feet) 4546
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11599
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 28 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1236
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2002 9:31AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office SDL FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N995PM
NTSB Number LAX01LA292
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 206-L4
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 52251
Certified Max Gross Weight 4450
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 49
Airframe Hours 49
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pacific Marine Leasing Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 19208 59th Drive NE
Aircraft Owner City Arlington
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98223
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FFZ
Departure City Mesa
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 25 2002 12:50PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22R
Runway Length 3801
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --