Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI N503DS

Summary

On 30 January 2016 at about 16:00 local time, a Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI registered N503DS was involved in an accident near Beaumont, Texas, 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

30 January 2016 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Beaumont, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Beaumont Muni (BMT)

Coordinates

30.0714, -94.2142

Aircraft

Helicopteres Guimbal CABRI

Registration

N503DS

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2015

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beaumont → Beaumont

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16LA117

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind during a hover-taxi and his failure to maintain helicopter control due to a loss of tail rotor effectiveness.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the private pilot, after completing a local area flight, he was hover-taxiing the helicopter to the ramp on about a 065-degree heading. Once the helicopter was clear of the taxiway, the helicopter encountered a small wind gust, which the pilot classified as a "tailwind." He corrected the helicopter's subsequent left rotation by applying about one-quarter of right tail rotor pedal and noted that the airspeed was about 20 knots and the altitude was about 10 ft. About 1 second later, the helicopter encountered another more significant wind gust. The pilot noted that he applied full right tail rotor pedal but that the helicopter continued to rotate left and that he then "nudged" the cyclic to the right to "follow the left spin out" and regain control. The pilot was able to stop the forward momentum of the helicopter; however, the left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter rolled left and impacted terrain. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation and that he considered this a loss of tail rotor effectiveness event. The pilot reported that the wind at the airport at the time of the accident was from 220 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 24 knots. It is likely that the pilot did not maintain a nose-into-the-wind position and that, when the helicopter began to settle with power, it lost tail rotor effectiveness.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.