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CHI87LA180

1987-07-30 · GRIFFITH, Indiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 05C

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE TAIL BOOM OF THE HELICOPTER WAS SEVERED AFTER ROTOR BLADE CONTACT DURING A HARD LANDING. THE ACC OCCURRED DURING AN AUTOROTATION DEMO FOR THE POLICE DEPT WITH A POWER RECOVERY. APPLICATION OF POWER WAS LATE AND THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD AND BOUNCED. THE BOUNCE FLEXED THE MAIN ROTOR INTO THE TAIL BOOM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_CHI87LA180.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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