Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 N862YB

Summary

On 14 December 2021 at about 19:50 local time, a Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 registered N862YB, operated by Oregon Airbus LLC, was involved in an accident near Bridgeport, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one 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

14 December 2021 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Bridgeport, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Bridgeport Municipal Airport (XBP)

Coordinates

33.1739, -97.8284

Aircraft

Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407

Registration

N862YB

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Oregon Airbus LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA078

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate main rotor RPM during an autorotation which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper placement of the throttle during the initial practice power-on recovery autorotation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he elected to practice a couple power recovery autorotations before landing at his destination. The first autorotation was uneventful. During the second autorotation he decreased the throttle to what he thought was the idle position. Shortly thereafter, he received an “engine out” audio warning. He glanced at the throttle position on the collective and observed that he accidentally had the throttle in the off position instead of the idle position. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but with the ground quickly approaching, he elected to perform an engine out autorotation to the ground. He flared about 35 feet above the ground. About 7 feet above the ground, the main rotor RPM became too slow, and the helicopter dropped to the ground. The rear skids impacted hard; the helicopter rocked forward then came to rest on its left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor system, fuselage, tail boom, and the tail rotor system. The pilot reported there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.