Bell 407 N26VA

Summary

On 16 November 2023 at about 00:30 local time, a Bell 407 registered N26VA was involved in an accident near Chesterfield, Virginia, United States. 3 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

16 November 2023 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesterfield, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Richmond Exec/Chesterfield Cou (FCI)

Coordinates

37.4000, -77.5167

Aircraft

Bell 407

Registration

N26VA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ERA24LA045

Nobody was injured.

A hard landing, which resulted in a main rotor strike of the left vertical stablizer.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The night training flight was conducted using night vision goggles, and a crew change was conducted while helicopter continued to operate. The maneuvers conducted included hovering, straight-in and 180° autorotations to touchdown, hydraulics off flight, and stuck-pedal flight to touchdown. The flight instructor and the two pilots described the maneuvers as smooth and controlled with no hard landings. A post-flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the left vertical stabilizer, and “rub marks and scratches” on the underside of each main rotor blade consistent with main rotor contact. A main rotor strike of the vertical fin likely occurred during a hard landing at the termination of an autoration, but the investigation was unable to determine the specific training event during which the main rotor strike occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.