Bell 206L-1 N2072M

Summary

On 23 April 2013 at about 21:45 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N2072M, operated by Papillon Airways Inc, was involved in an accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 April 2013 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Grand Canyon National Park (GCN)

Coordinates

35.8553, -112.0756

Aircraft

Bell 206L-1

Registration

N2072M

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Papillon Airways Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Canyon → Grand Canyon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA206

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction to recognize before entering the flare that the wind had shifted to a tailwind and terminate the practice autorotation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that she and the pilot receiving instruction were practicing autorotations. During an autorotation involving a right 180-degree turn, the flight instructor announced that the throttle was coming on, and then announced when full throttle was on. The pilot then started to level the helicopter. Because the wind had shifted to a tailwind during the maneuver, the pilot was forced to flare harder and use more cyclic control than expected. The flight instructor realized that completing a power recovery from the autorotation was going to result in an overtorque condition, took over control, and landed the helicopter. During the landing, the tailboom was substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.