N74823 – BELL 47D1 – 2015-08-11 NTSB Accident Report

On August 11, 2015, a Bell 47D1 (N74823) was involved in an incident near Clanton, AL. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The student pilot's abrupt cyclic and collective inputs during the approach to land which resulted in abnormal runway contact and a subsequent tail boom strike by the main rotor blades.

The flight instructor reported that while conducting an approach to landing, terminating at a three foot hover, the student pilot "pulled back on the cyclic and dumped collective", which caused the main rotor blades to contact the tail boom after the helicopter impacted the ground "hard".

The flight instructor reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail boom and to the empennage.

This incident is documented in NTSB report GAA15CA221. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N74823.