NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA17CA056
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The helicopter flight instructor's inadequate demonstration of a simulated engine failure, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
During an instructional flight, the helicopter was at an altitude of 40 to 50 ft above ground level, at 60 knots, when the flight instructor intended to demonstrate a simulated engine failure and run-on landing. Although the flight instructor had intended to recover from the maneuver prior to an actual run-on landing, he noticed that he did not have enough rotor rpm to recover and elected to continue with the run-on landing. The helicopter then landed hard on a taxiway and slid about 300 ft before coming to rest upright. The flight instructor added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the aft engine bulkhead and wrinkles in the helicopter panels near the tail boom and rotor gear box. During an instructional flight, the helicopter was about 40 to 50 ft above ground level and at 60 knots when the flight instructor intended to demonstrate a simulated engine failure and run-on landing. Although the flight instructor had intended to recover from the maneuver before an actual run-on landing, he noticed that he did not have enough rotor rpm to recover and chose to continue with the run-on landing. The helicopter then landed hard on a taxiway and slid about 300 ft before coming to rest upright. The flight instructor added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the aft engine bulkhead and wrinkles in the helicopter panels near the tailboom and rotor gear box. 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-Instructor/check pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Instructor/check pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Prop/rotor parameters-Not attained/maintained - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2016_ERA17CA056.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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