Bell 206-L4 N802DS

Summary

On 20 June 2001 at about 14:26 local time, a Bell 206-L4 registered N802DS was involved in an accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 June 2001 at 14:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Daytona Beach International (DAB)

Coordinates

29.1902, -81.0498

Aircraft

Bell 206-L4

Registration

N802DS

Category

Helicopter

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ormond Beach → Daytona Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01FA169

2 people had minor injuries.

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control following a hard landing resulting from a failure to maintain rotor rpm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the flight was a Federal Air Regulations, (FAR) Part 135.293 check ride being administered by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA check pilot was occupying the left seat. They had completed two successful autorotations with power recovery at the Ormond Beach Airport, and were conducting the accident autorotation as a final landing at the completion of the check ride. He stated he was a little high for the chosen touchdown spot, and performed "S" turns to lose altitude. When he started a deceleration and rolled throttle on, the rotorcraft continued to descend and suffered a hard touchdown and bounce. On the second touchdown, the rotorcraft began a right yaw and teetered between left and right landing skids until the main rotor impacted the runway and rolled over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.