Brantly B 2B N9023Z

Summary

On 25 May 2014 at about 19:45 local time, a Brantly B 2B registered N9023Z, operated by Mark A. Kukucka, was involved in an accident near Essex, Maryland, 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

25 May 2014 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Essex, Maryland, United States

Coordinates

39.2503, -76.3625

Aircraft

Brantly B 2B

Registration

N9023Z

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2001

Operator

Mark A. Kukucka

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Baltimore → Baltimore

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14CA259

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain helicopter control during landing resulting in a hard landing and a roll over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot during an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the purpose of the flight was to practice approaches and hovering. As the helicopter neared the ground, he pulled collective to enter a hover when it began to rotate clockwise. He was unable to stop the rotation and the helicopter made two full rotations prior to impacting the ground. The passenger reported that the helicopter impacted the ground "hard, but not too hard." The helicopter bounced, rolled over, and came to rest on the left side of the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor blades, the fuselage, and tailboom. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, the pilot stated that the passenger was "ride[ing] along" on the flight controls.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.