NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA16CA313
Registry · N917PD
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 429
Year of manufacture
2013 · 3 years old at event
TCDS
R00003RD · BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA LTD
Engine
P&W CANADA PW207D1/D2 (621 hp)
Seats / Engines
9 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20140109
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ACB1F5
Registrant of record
NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s overcontrolling of the helicopter during an aborted slope landing from a hover, which resulted in a main rotor blade strike.
Factual narrative
The pilot was landing the helicopter on a nose-up slope when he "noticed the helicopter started to tilt aft." As the pilot "immediately" increased collective pitch and applied forward cyclic to abort the landing, 3 of 4 main rotor blades struck the wire strike protection system on the cabin roof, which resulted in substantial damage to the blades. Representatives from the helicopter manufacturer inspected the helicopter, replaced the 3 damaged rotor blades, and the helicopter was returned to service. According to the pilot, there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that prevented normal operation. The pilot was landing the helicopter on a nose-up slope when he "noticed the helicopter started to tilt aft." As the pilot "immediately" increased collective pitch and applied forward cyclic to abort the landing, three of the four main rotor blades struck the wire strike protection system on the cabin roof, which resulted in substantial damage to the blades. Representatives from the helicopter manufacturer examined the helicopter, replaced the three damaged rotor blades, and then returned the helicopter to service. According to the pilot, there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have prevented normal operation. 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 Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft propeller/rotor-Main rotor system-Main rotor blade system-Related operating info - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2016_ERA16CA313.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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