NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA12CA375
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and delayed remedial action during a simulated engine-out procedure, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
According to the certificated flight instructor (CFI), during the helicopter instructional flight, a simulated engine failure maneuver was being performed. During the descent, the engine rpm began to decrease. The anticipated approach path to the landing area required the helicopter to overfly trees. As the helicopter approached the intended landing area, the student pilot raised the collective, which further decreased the rotor rpm. The CFI lowered the collective and increased the throttle; the helicopter landed hard, bounced, landed a second time, and rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the tailboom. A postaccident investigation revealed no preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, neither pilot reported any mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter. According to the flight instructor, during the helicopter instructional flight, he simulated an engine failure. During the descent, the engine rpm began to decrease. As the helicopter approached the intended landing area, the student pilot raised the collective, which further decreased the rotor rpm. The flight instructor lowered the collective and increased the throttle; the helicopter touched down hard, bounced, landed and rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the tailboom. A postaccident examination revealed no preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, neither pilot reported any mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Instructor/check pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2012_ERA12CA375.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Multi-level Adaptation for Automatic Landing with Engine Failure under Turbulent Weather
This paper addresses efficient feasibility evaluation of possible emergency landing sites, online navigation, and path following for automatic landing under engine-out failure subject to turbulent wea…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Simulation of Liquid Rocket Engine Failure Propagation Using Self-Evolving Scenarios
Traditional probabilistic risk assessment approaches often require failure scenarios to be explicitly defined through event sequences that are then quantified as part of the integrated analysis.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techiques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techniques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
A simulator investigation of engine failure compensation for powered-lift STOL aircraft
A piloted simulator investigation of various engine failure compensation concepts for powered-lift STOL aircraft was carried out at the Ames Research Center.
- Semantic Scholar 2019 · Article (AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum)
Impact of Engine Failure Constraints on the Initial Sizing of Hybrid-Electric GA Aircraft
Potential advantages of hybrid-electric aircraft are fuel savings, lower emissions, and reduced noise. Since these aircraft generally apply multiple power sources, they can also be designed to sustain…
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