McDonnell Douglas Heli 530FF N530JR

Summary

On 31 August 2023 at about 13:05 local time, a McDonnell Douglas Heli 530FF registered N530JR was involved in an accident near Liberty Hill, Texas, 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

31 August 2023 at 13:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Liberty Hill, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.6623, -97.9346

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas Heli 530FF

Registration

N530JR

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA389

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight, the instructor reported that they were practicing simulated engine failures and power recovery autorotations. During the fourth practice autorotation, the pilot receiving instruction attempted to terminate the maneuver with power to a 5 ft above ground level hover. The pilot did not move the twistgrip throttle from idle power back to full open and began raising the collective. The helicopter “fell through” and experienced a hard landing onto a field. The helicopter bounced, touched down hard again and spun about 150° resulting in substantial damage to the tail boom and empennage. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.