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FTW87DRA02

1987-04-18 · ARCOLA, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AXH

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACFT WAS BEING TEST FLOWN FOLLOWING THE REPLACEMENT OF A TAIL ROTOR DRIVE BELT. FOLLOWING A GROUND RUN UP AND GROUND TAXI, SEVERAL HOVERING FLTS WERE MADE SUCCESSFULLY. AS THE NON-HELICOPTER RATED PLT WAS HOVERING BACK TO THE PARKING AREA, HE HEARD THE BELT BEGIN SLIPPING AND THE NOSE OF THE HELICOPTER ROTATED TO THE LEFT. APPLICATION OF RIGHT PEDAL DID NOT ARREST THE LEFT YAW AND THE ACFT STRUCK THE GROUND HARD WHILE IN A LEFT YAW WITH THE RIGHT SKID DOWN. FOLLOWING INITIAL IMPACT THE ACFT ROLLED OVER ON ITS LEFT SIDE AND WAS CONSUMED BY A POST IMPACT FIRE WHICH ALSO DESTROYED THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE BELT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_FTW87DRA02.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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