No fatalities

23 Apr 2013: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON 206L-1 — PAPILLON AIRWAYS INC — Grand Canyon, AZ

Grand Canyon, AZ, United States

On 23 Apr 2013, a BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON 206L-1 operated by PAPILLON AIRWAYS INC was involved in an aviation accident near Grand Canyon, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The failure of the flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction to recognize before entering the flare that the wind had shifted to a tailwind and terminate the practice autorotation. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 13 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a right-turn autorotation, a student pilot and instructor experienced tail boom damage upon landing after the instructor took control to prevent engine over-torque.

Overview

A flight instructor reported that during an instructional flight, she and her student pilot were practicing autorotations. The incident occurred during a right-turn 180-degree autorotation.

Maneuver

As the maneuver progressed, the flight instructor announced that the throttle was coming on, and then when full throttle was applied. The student began leveling the helicopter. However, the wind had shifted during the maneuver, requiring the student to flare harder and use increased cyclic control.

Landing and Damage

To prevent an engine over-torque, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter and landed. During the landing, the tail boom sustained substantial damage.

Instructor's Report

The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Instructor/check pilotPilotAwareness of condition