What happened
On January 15, 2012, at approximately 13:20 local time, a Fairchild Hiller FH 1100 helicopter was performing a landing at the Soest / Bad Sassendorf special airfield in Germany. During the flare maneuver, the tail boom and tail rotor made contact with the ground. This impact damaged the tail rotor and caused the helicopter to begin rotating around its vertical axis. Following this, the aircraft experienced a hard landing on the grass surface, causing the main rotor blades to strike the ground.
The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, was able to exit the helicopter without injury. While the impact caused a fire in the engine cowling area near the exhaust, the fire extinguished itself without further incident.
The investigation
The BFU investigation examined the aircraft, the pilot's credentials, and the environmental conditions at the time of the accident. The aircraft, which was registered in the United States, had undergone its annual inspection and a 100-hour check in July 2011. The pilot held a valid German private pilot license with a type rating for the FH 1100 and had approximately 240 total flight hours, 170 of which were on this specific model.
Investigators inspected the wreckage at the scene, noting that the left skid was broken, the rotor mast had tilted backward, and the control rods to the rotor head had torn away. The main rotor blades were also damaged. The investigation also reviewed meteorological data from the Dortmund airport, which indicated visibility of 9,000 meters and light winds at the time of the occurrence.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the tail rotor striking the ground during the landing flare.
- There were no mechanical failures or control issues reported by the pilot prior to the impact.
- The aircraft sustained heavy damage to the airframe, rotor system, and landing gear.