Accident Overview
On February 22, 2025, at approximately 1620 local time, a Hughes OH-6A helicopter (registration N4191T) sustained substantial damage following an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The aircraft was being operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. The flight instructor and the pilot undergoing instruction were not injured.
Flight Details
Earlier in the day, the flight instructor had flown the same helicopter with its owner without incident. The accident flight was intended as refresher training for the pilot undergoing instruction, rather than a formal flight review. For approximately 30 minutes, the crew performed a series of practice maneuvers. After completing these maneuvers, the flight instructor took control of the helicopter and initiated a hover taxi from the end of runway 28 to a helicopter pad located about 500 feet to the southwest.
Accident Sequence
Approximately midway through the hover taxi, the crew felt a shudder in the airframe, and the helicopter immediately yawed to the right. The flight instructor responded by moving the throttle to idle and lowering the collective. The yaw then transitioned into a spin, and the helicopter struck the ground on the incline of a gravel pit. The helicopter came to rest upright on a southwest heading. The tailboom was severed just aft of the engine, and the tailrotor assembly, including the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, were found about 100 feet behind the main wreckage.
Damage Assessment
The helicopter was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The tailboom separated from the airframe, and the tailrotor assembly was detached and located at a distance from the main wreckage.