On February 28, 2007, an Eurocopter France SA330J (registration N330KW) operated by Evergreen Helicopters International, Inc. was involved in an aviation accident near Lakeview, OR. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot forgot to extend the landing gear, and the instructor pilot did not notice the gear was retracted and did not take remedial action. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
Aircraft registered N330KW. Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Spike Call / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
During a simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, a student forgot to extend the landing gear. The instructor did not notice, and the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook into the airframe.
Incident
During a simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, the dual student forgot to extend the landing gear. The instructor did not notice that the gear was still retracted and therefore did not take remedial action. As a result, the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook up into the airframe bulkhead structure in the area of the left-hand transverse fuel tank.
Aftermath
After recognizing the situation, the instructor pilot took control of the aircraft, lifted it off the runway, lowered the landing gear, and set it back down on the wheels. The crew then shut down the aircraft and inspected for damage.
Probable cause
The student pilot forgot to extend the landing gear, and the instructor pilot did not notice the gear was retracted and did not take remedial action.
