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GAA15CA002

2015-03-05 · Justin, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KAFW

N41BH has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BEECH F33A), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

Abnormal ground contact during an autorotation demonstration, resulting in a severed tailrotor driveshaft.

Factual narrative

The helicopter instructor was demonstrating a full down 180 degree auto rotation. He reported that everything was done normally and as he flared to slow the aircraft down, the tail skid lightly bumped the ground a couple of times. The skids eventually made contact with the ground and the helicopter slid about 20 feet to a stop. A post landing examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade had contacted the tailboom, severing the tailrotor drive shaft. The helicopter instructor was demonstrating a full down 180 degree auto rotation. He reported that everything was done normally and as he flared to slow the aircraft down, the tail skid lightly bumped the ground a couple of times. The skids eventually made contact with the ground and the helicopter slid about 20 feet to a stop. A post landing examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade had contacted the tailboom, severing the tailrotor drive shaft. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA002.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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