Safari 400 N326RW

Summary

On 2 July 2018 at about 16:30 local time, a Safari 400 registered N326RW was involved in an accident near Aguilares, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 July 2018 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Aguilares, Texas, United States

Coordinates

27.1500, -99.1100

Aircraft

Safari 400

Registration

N326RW

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2018

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Slator Ranch → Slator Ranch

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA247

1 person was seriously injured.

The loss of tail rotor control due to the in-flight failure of the tail rotor pinion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed in an amateur-built helicopter on a local flight for phase I flight test requirements. The helicopter was between 20 and 30 ft above ground level when it started to shudder. The pilot looked for a place to land and then heard a "pop"; the helicopter then lost tail rotor authority. The helicopter started to rotate counterclockwise, and the pilot attempted to stop the rotation without success. The helicopter impacted the ground and rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the transmission revealed that the tail rotor pinion had failed. There was no damage to the tail rotor blades or the tail rotor driveshaft. Laboratory examination of the tail rotor pinion revealed that both halves of the pinion shaft fracture surface exhibited mechanical damage by recontact resulting in rubbing of the fracture surfaces. No evidence of a preexisting crack was observed. Microhardness measurement values were consistent with the specifications for the pinion shaft. There were no other mechanical anomalies with the helicopter or its systems that would have precluded normal operations. The lack of damage to the tail rotor blades and tail rotor driveshaft is consistent with the failure of the tail rotor pinion in flight and not as a result of ground impact. Due to the recontact rubbing of the fracture surface, the investigation was not able to determine the exact reason for the pinion failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.