N917PD – BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 429 – 2016-09-01 NTSB Accident Report

On September 01, 2016, a Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 (N917PD) was involved in an incident near Rikers Island, NY. All 6 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot’s overcontrolling of the helicopter during an aborted slope landing from a hover, which resulted in a main rotor blade strike.

The pilot was landing the helicopter on a nose-up slope when he "noticed the helicopter started to tilt aft." As the pilot "immediately" increased collective pitch and applied forward cyclic to abort the landing, 3 of 4 main rotor blades struck the wire strike protection system on the cabin roof, which resulted in substantial damage to the blades. Representatives from the helicopter manufacturer inspected the helicopter, replaced the 3 damaged rotor blades, and the helicopter was returned to service. According to the pilot, there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that prevented normal operation.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA16CA313. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N917PD.