Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
La Porte Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
La Porte, Texas 77571
Friday, April 4, 2008 15:03 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was test flying the helicopter after maintenance. He did two "quick stop" maneuvers into the wind. After completing the quick stop maneuver, and while in a 5-foot hover, he initiated a slow pedal turn to the left to return to the hangar. As he began the turn, he noticed "a loss of control effectiveness" and he attempted to set the helicopter down. Before he could regain control, the helicopter "slammed" into the ground. The pilot said it had begun to rain, and after he exited the helicopter, he noticed the wind sock had shifted 180 degrees. The tail boom was severed and the main rotor blades were destroyed.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of tail rotor effectiveness. Contributing factors were the sudden windshift to a tailwind, and the pilot initiating a hovering turn in ground effect.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/4/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1503 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | La Porte |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77571 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 294017N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0950385W |
| Event Location Airport | La Porte Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | T41 |
| 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 | 25 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.82 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23997 |
| NTSB Notification Source | DFW NTSB |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 8 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 28 2008 3:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Houston, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N40289 |
| NTSB Number | DEN08LA071 |
| 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 | Hiller |
| Aircraft Model | UH-12E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 5096 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 1 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2216 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Ascent Aviation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 202 N. Farrington St. |
| Aircraft Owner City | La Porte |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77571 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Paul Legris |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 17150 Blackhawk Blvd. |
| Operator City | Friendswood |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77540 |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | T41 |
| Departure City | La Porte |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1450 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | T41 |
| Destination City | La Porte |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 21 2008 10:06AM |
| User who most recently changed record | BOWL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |