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BFO92LA117

1992-07-25 · SANFORD, Maine, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SFM

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF UNSUITABLE TERRAIN TO EXECUTE A LANDING.

Factual narrative

DURING AN AUTOROTATION DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT BY THE STUDENT, THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN IN A SOFT GRASSY AREA RESULTING IN THE SKIDS DIGGING INTO THE GROUND. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE HAD COMPLETED 5 AUTOROTATIONS IN ANOTHER AREA IN THE CENTER OF THE AIRPORT, WHEN HIS INSTRUCTOR REQUESTED HIM TO PERFORM ANOTHER AUTOROTATION CLOSER TO WHERE HE WAS LOCATED. THE PILOT STATED THAT EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL UNTIL UPON TOUCHDOWN WHEN THE HELICOPTER SLID FORWARD APPROXIMATELY 26 FEET ON THE GROUND. DURING THE SLIDE THE LANDING SKID DUG INTO THE GROUND, CAUSING THE HELICOPTER TO NOSE OVER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_BFO92LA117.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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