Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Las Vegas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Monday, July 22, 2013 7:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The purpose of the flight was to provide the helicopter-rated pilot with "differences" training in a helicopter that is flown from the left seat instead of the standard right seat. The helicopter did not have dual controls, and the instructor was seated in a rear seat, observing over the student's shoulder.
The instructor reported that the pilot over controlled the helicopter as it picked up to a hover, and the helicopter moved fore and aft with a slight yaw. The helicopter continued to move fore and aft and the yaw increased. The pilot receiving instruction reported that the nose yawed to the left, the helicopter started to "jump," and she lowered the collective to put the helicopter on the ground. The condition worsened, and she picked the helicopter up to a hover as instructed; however, she was unable to maintain control of the helicopter, and the tail rotor hit the ground. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation were reported. Because the helicopter did not have dual controls, the flight instructor was unable to take action to regain control.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot receiving instruction's failure to maintain control of the helicopter in a hover, which resulted in a tail rotor ground strike.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/22/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 715 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Las Vegas |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89119 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 360429N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1150905W |
| Event Location Airport | Las Vegas |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KLAS |
| 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 | 2181 |
| 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 | KLAS |
| 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 | -- |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31943 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 21 2013 5:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N115SH |
| NTSB Number | WPR13LA334 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | EUROCOPTER |
| Aircraft Model | AS 350 B2 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3141 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4961 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 16 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 20030 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SUNDANCE HELICOPTERS INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAS VEGAS |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89119-2415 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SUNDANCE HELICOPTERS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | LAS VEGAS |
| Operator State | NV |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 89119-2415 |
| Operator Code | KBMA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | KBMA477F |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | KLAS |
| Departure City | Las Vegas |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 715 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KLAS |
| Destination City | Las Vegas |
| Destination State | NV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 21 2013 5:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |