NTSB CEN25LA084 — 2024-11-11 · Lago Vista, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N1243Y

Make / Model: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 505
Year of manufacture: 2018 · 6 years old at event
Engine: SAFRAN ARRIUS 2R (460 hp)
Seats / Engines: 5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20230824
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A06566

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1243Y BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 505 None

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

While conducting an instructional flight, the flight instructor reported that he and the student pilot were practicing straight-in autorotation approaches in the helicopter with a power recovery. The helicopter was configured with a throttle control switch rather than a twistable throttle control. During the fifth autorotation approach, the flight instructor forgot to move the throttle control from “Idle” to “Fly” prior to flaring the helicopter. The helicopter descended and landed hard on the runway. During the hard landing, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that contributed to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Powerplant parameters-Incorrect use/operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN25LA084.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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