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ERA14CA102

2014-01-23 · West Palm Beach, Florida, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport F45

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The certificated flight instructor's failure to maintain helicopter control during a run-on landing, resulting in a rollover and ground collision.

Factual narrative

The certificated flight instructor (CFI) stated that during a local training flight he was demonstrating how to perform a run-on landing to the student pilot. During the landing, the helicopter began to travel toward the right edge of the paved surface. The CFI stated he countered the right slide with left cyclic input. As the helicopter approached the paved surface edge, the CFI raised collective in order to attempt put the helicopter into a hover but the helicopter left the paved surface. The helicopter subsequently rolled over on to the right side, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail boom, main rotor blades, and fuselage. According to a written report, there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) stated that during a local training flight he was demonstrating how to perform a run-on landing to the student pilot. During the landing, the helicopter began to travel toward the right edge of the paved surface. The CFI stated he countered the right slide with left cyclic input.  As the helicopter approached the paved surface edge, the CFI raised collective in order to attempt put the helicopter into a hover but the helicopter left the paved surface.  The helicopter subsequently rolled over on to the right side, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail boom, main rotor blades, and fuselage. According to a written report, there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_ERA14CA102.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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