Burke Lakefront Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Friday, March 29, 2013 14:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After a local flight, the helicopter landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain awareness of the helicopter's descent rate and airspeed during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s improper flare with a high descent rate, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/29/2013
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Cleveland
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44114
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413103N
Event Location Longitude 0814060W
Event Location Airport Burke Lakefront
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KBKL
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 583
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID KBKL
Elevation of weather observation facility 584
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
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) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.24
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KBKL 291853Z 28007KT 10SM CLR 04/M01 A3024 R
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32394
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 3 2014 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2065P
NTSB Number CEN13LA218
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 SCHWEIZER
Aircraft Model 269C-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0140
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JW HELICOPTER LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City PEPPER PIKE
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44124-4328
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name JW HELICOPTER LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City PEPPER PIKE
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 44124-4328
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 KBKL
Departure City Cleveland
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KBKL
Destination City Cleveland
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 3 2014 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --