Incident Details
On October 25, 2014, at approximately 1240 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, registered as N418SV and operated by Helix Helicopters, experienced substantial damage after an uneventful landing at Wellington Aero Club (FD38) in West Palm Beach, Florida. The commercial pilot and four passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local personal flight, with visual meteorological conditions prevailing. No flight plan was filed. The helicopter had departed FD38 at about 1130.
Inspection Findings
After landing the helicopter on a dolly and disembarking the passengers, the owner/pilot observed a large crack on the underside of the passenger side skid. A mechanic subsequently examined the helicopter and identified additional damage: impact damage between the main driveshaft and transmission isolation mount, a cracked support at the left forward engine mount, a cracked starter generator mount bracket, and a cracked main rotor yoke. The damage was consistent with a recent hard landing.
Pilot Statements
The owner/pilot stated that there were no hard landings during the sightseeing flight, a claim corroborated by a pilot-rated passenger. The owner/pilot added that two days prior to the damage being observed, two instructional flights had been conducted by another pilot/flight instructor at Palm Coast, Florida. After those instructional flights, the owner/pilot repositioned the helicopter to FD38 and did not notice any damage. She further stated that the helicopter was not flown between the repositioning flight and the sightseeing flight.
Previous Flights
According to written statements from the flight instructor and two pilots receiving instruction, no hard landings occurred during the two instructional flights. However, during a postflight inspection following the first instructional flight, oil was observed around the tailrotor gearbox as the tailrotor gearbox cap had separated. The tailrotor gearbox was then serviced with oil and the cap was secured. A preflight and postflight inspection during the second instructional flight did not reveal any other anomalies.