NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX92LA288
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE SECOND PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF THE ROTORCRAFT FLIGHT CONTROLS AND THE FIRST PILOT'S POOR SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT. A FACTOR RELATING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS BOTH PILOT'S INEXPERIENCE IN THE HELICOPTER MAKE AND MODEL.
Factual narrative
THE FIRST PILOT WAS PRACTICING HOVERING FROM A MOVABLE HELIPAD FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. DURING THIS TIME THE FIRST PILOT PERFORMED 5 VERTICAL LIFT-OFFS AND LANDINGS. AFTER THE LAST LANDING THE SECOND PILOT BOARDED THE HELICOPTER AND OCCUPIED THE LEFT FRONT SEAT. THE SECOND PILOT INITIATED A LIFT-OFF TO A HOVER AND DURING THIS TIME THE FIRST PILOT FAILED TO SUPERVISE THE FLIGHT AND THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO DRIFT OFF THE HELIPAD TO THE RIGHT. THE SECOND PILOT FAILED TO APPLY THE PROPER FLIGHT CONTROLS TO ARREST THE DRIFT EVEN THOUGH THE FIRST PILOT REPORTED THAT BOTH PILOTS APPLIED FULL LEFT CYCLIC. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE CONTACTED THE ASPHALT RAMP SURFACE AND THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER. EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF ANY FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM FAILURES. BOTH PILOTS HAD ONLY ACCRUED 2 FLIGHT HOURS IN THE HELICOPTER MAKE AND MODEL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_LAX92LA288.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 (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Icing Physics Studies Using the 3D SIDRM Test Article: 2023 Icing Tests Analysis
In-flight icing is an important safety issue and is a factor that affects aircraft design and performance. Newer regulations are driving a need for improvements in airframe and engine icing simulation…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for UAV-Assisted 5G Network Slicing: A Comparative Study of MAPPO, MADDPG, and MADQN
The growing demand for robust, scalable wireless networks in the 5G-and-beyond era has led to the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to enhance coverage in dense urb…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Mathematical Model on the Temporal Dynamics of Aviation Competitive Pricing
This study investigates the competitive dynamics of airport pricing using U.S. airport data to validate the findings. It employs linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equation models to analyze t…
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – March 2025
This NASA Icing Update was prepared for presentation to the SAE International AC-9C Inflight Icing Technology Committee. This update includes the following topics: planned Rotational Icing Scaling tes…
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
An energy-stable phase-field model for droplet icing simulations
A phase-field model for three-phase flows is established by combining the Navier-Stokes (NS) and the energy equations, with the Allen-Cahn (AC) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equations and is demonstrated ana…
- NASA NTRS 2024 · Presentation
NASA Icing Update – Oct 2024
This presentation provides a status update on select NASA icing research activities for the SAE AC-9C Icing Technical Committee Meeting on Oct 21, 2024.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗