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BFO90LA042

1990-05-13 · BALTIMORE, Maryland, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport W48

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT APPLIED EXCESSIVE CYCLIC CONTROL, CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR TO FLEX AND SEVERE THE TAIL CONE.

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS PRACTICING LANDINGS WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. HE REPORTED THAT AFTER TOUCH DOWN, AS THE FORWARD MOTION OF THE HELICOPTER SLOWED, HE NOTICED THE HELICOPTER PITCHED SLIGHTLY DOWN. THE PLT STATED HE INSTINCTIVELY APPLIED AFT CYCLIC PRESSURE, CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES TO FLEX DOWN AND SEVERE THE TAIL CONE. NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WAS REPORTED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_BFO90LA042.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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