Ohio State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Columbus, Ohio 43240
Thursday, September 22, 2005 14:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported he was returning to land from a local flight when he noticed another helicopter hovering on the ramp, and elected to alter his approach away from the other helicopter, with the intent of landing southwest of the ramp. He flew parallel to runways 27 left and right, leveled off at 50 feet, and began a right turn to approach the ramp from the west. The pilot added that he observed a kneeboard fall from the co-pilot's side of the helicopter, and land near the cyclic control boot. He tried to straighten the helicopter; however, the cyclic control felt "stiff," and could only be moved slightly to the left or aft. The helicopter continued to descend, and landed hard. A helicopter pilot, who witnessed the accident, stated that the helicopter's approach was fast, steep, and conducted with a tailwind. Examination of the helicopter, and its associated hydraulic control system, did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions. In addition, attempts to restrict the cyclic control movement by positioning the kneeboard at various locations around the cyclic control could not be duplicated. A weather observation taken at the airport, about the time of the accident, reported winds from 190 degrees at 12 knots. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, the wind sock was "limp."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor associated with this accident was a tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/22/2005
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Columbus
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43240
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400447N
Event Location Longitude 0830422W
Event Location Airport Ohio State
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OSU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 905
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID OSU
Elevation of weather observation facility 905
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21362
NTSB Notification Source Columbus FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Sep 26 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2007 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbus

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N117MK
NTSB Number NYC05LA145
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Eurocopter Deutschland
Aircraft Model BK-117-B2
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7196
Certified Max Gross Weight 7385
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 29
Airframe Hours 7871
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Chase Equipment Leasing
Aircraft Owner Street Address 111 Polaris Pkwy
Aircraft Owner City Columbus
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43240
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Omniflight Helicopters
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2827 W. Dublin Granville Road
Operator City Columbus
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 43235
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate --
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OSU
Departure City Columbus
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1347
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code OSU
Destination City Columbus
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 21 2007 9:27PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --