Summary
On August 26, 1997, a Fairchild Heli-porter PC6/B2-H2 (N354F) was involved in an incident near Gillette, WY. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: Failure by the pilot in command to follow procedures and retrim the stabilizer for landing.
On August 26, 1997, at 1510 mountain daylight time, a Fairchild Heli Porter, N354F, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at Gillette, Wyoming. The commercial pilot was not injured. The flight was being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91 as a local area flight and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, he had dropped a load of sky divers and on return to land he forgot to retrim the stabilizer during approach and ran out of elevator control during the flare for landing. The landing was hard and the left main landing gear collapsed. The underside of the fuselage skin, ribs, and stringers sustained damage when the landing gear collapsed.
The flight was operating at the race track complex in Gillette.
This incident is documented in NTSB report FTW97LA329. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N354F.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
Failure by the pilot in command to follow procedures and retrim the stabilizer for landing.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On August 26, 1997, at 1510 mountain daylight time, a Fairchild Heli Porter, N354F, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at Gillette, Wyoming. The commercial pilot was not injured. The flight was being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91 as a local area flight and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, he had dropped a load of sky divers and on return to land he forgot to retrim the stabilizer during approach and ran out of elevator control during the flare for landing. The landing was hard and the left main landing gear collapsed. The underside of the fuselage skin, ribs, and stringers sustained damage when the landing gear collapsed.
The flight was operating at the race track complex in Gillette.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# FTW97LA329