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ATL92LA017

1991-10-28 · ROME, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N925V has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-9A, built 2018), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF A TAIL ROTOR BLADE FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT HAD COMPLETED TWO TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND DURING THE THIRD TAKEOFF FOR ANOTHER APPROACH THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR FELT A THUMP IN THE AIRFRAME. IMMEDIATELY, HE ENTERED AN AUTOROTATION AND LANDED IN A WOODED AREA. EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER DISCLOSED THAT THE TAIL ROTOR GEARBOX AND TAIL ROTOR ASSEMBLIES WERE MISSING. ACCORDING TO THE OPERATOR BOTH ASSEMBLIES WERE RECOVERED THE FOLLOWING DAY, HOWEVER THE NTSB WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE RECOVERY. THE DAMAGED COMPONENTS WERE EXAMINED BY THE OPERATOR AND DESTROYED. ACCORDING TO THE MECHANIC, ONE ROTOR BLADE FAILED IN THE VICINITY WHERE AD 59-05-10 APPLIED; THE AD REQUIRED A DAILY INSPECTION OF THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES FOR CRACKS. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AN INSPECTION OF THE BLADES HAD BEEN COMPLETED PRIOR TO THIS FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_ATL92LA017.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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