MD Helicopters 369E N1576F

Summary

On 30 August 2022 at about 02:55 local time, a MD Helicopters 369E registered N1576F, operated by City of Houston Police Dept, was involved in an accident near Pearland, 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 August 2022 at 02:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Pearland, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Pearland Rgnl (LVJ)

Coordinates

29.5213, -95.2421

Aircraft

MD Helicopters 369E

Registration

N1576F

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

City of Houston Police Dept

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Pearland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN22LA402

Nobody was injured.

The pilot receiving instruction’s failure to maintain aircraft control, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that he and the commercial pilot receiving instruction were practicing simulated autorotations with power recovery. During one autorotation, as the helicopter was flared at the conclusion of the autorotation, the flight instructor increased the engine throttle and waited for the pilot receiving instruction to increase collective. When he did not feel the collective control move, the flight instructor pulled up on the collective, but the helicopter struck the ground before it could ascend. The pilot receiving instruction stated that during the flare, he did not feel the engine power increase like he had felt on previous autorotations; the helicopter sank fast and struck the ground. The main rotor of the helicopter severed the tail boom during the hard landing. Examination of the helicopter and a subsequent engine test run in a test cell did not reveal any anomalies that would explain a loss of engine power. Based on the available evidence, the accident was the result of the pilot receiving instruction’s failure to increase collective at the conclusion of the autorotation and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial response, which resulted in a hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.