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Atlas / NTSB / BFO86LA007

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event BFO86LA007

1985-11-29 MANASSAS, Virginia, United States Airport · W10 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N8499B

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22

Year of manufacture

1980 · 5 years old at event

TCDS

H10WE · ROBINSON HELICOPTER CO

Engine

LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19841128

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S ABA4DD

Registrant of record

JACKSON PAUL DOUGLAS

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

A SIMULATED STRAIGHT IN AUTOROTATION TO RUNWAY 34L WAS ENTERED FROM FINAL APPROACH BY LOWERING THE COLLECTIVE, AND A PWRRECOVERY WAS PLANNED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AUTOROTATION. AT ABOUT 150 FEET AGL, THE THROTTLE WAS ROLLED IN TO MATCH THE ENGINE AND ROTOR NEEDLES, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. THE AUTOROTATION WAS CONTINUED TO THE GROUND, AND THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE TERRAIN ABOUT 100 FEET FROM THE RWY 34L THRESHOLD, BOUNCED A FEW FEET IN THE AIR, ROTATED APPROXIMATELY 80-90 DEGREES TO THE LEFT, AND STRUCK THE GROUND AGAIN, COMING TO REST WITH AN APPROXIMATE 240 DEGREE HEADING.THE TAIL BOOM WAS SEVERED AND THE SKIDS WERE SPREAD. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_BFO86LA007.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.