Bell Textron Canada 505 N5DF

Summary

On 8 October 2022 at about 22:02 local time, a Bell Textron Canada 505 registered N5DF was involved in an accident near Fort Myers, Florida, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 October 2022 at 22:02

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.5127, -81.9371

Aircraft

Bell Textron Canada 505

Registration

N5DF

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2021

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bokeelia → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA011

4 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s execution of a landing approach with a right, quartering tailwind, low forward airspeed, and high power demand that, when combined, resulted in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness and helicopter control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who owned the helicopter, was proceeding to a landing zone to drop off passengers. As he initiated his approach, the prevailing wind was a right, quartering tailwind. His approach was near vertical, with no forward airspeed. The helicopter began to rotate to the right, then the rotation accelerated, and the pilot was unable to maintain helicopter control. The helicopter impacted the ground and came to rest on its left side, and the pilot and all three passengers were seriously injured. The main rotor struck a reinforced concrete light pole during the impact sequence, and the main rotor hub and blades separated from the main rotor mast. This resulted in an engine overspeed and blade shedding of the free turbine blades, by design, to prevent rupture of the free turbine disk. Postaccident examination of the airframe, engine, digital engine control unit, and data from integrated avionics revealed no evidence of a preexisting mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. Recorded data revealed that during the approach, engine power demand exceeded engine power available, resulting in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE), after which the pilot was unable to recover control of the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.