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Atlas / NTSB / MIA86LA074

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event MIA86LA074

1986-02-12 VERO BEACH, Florida, United States Airport · VRB None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

DURING AUTO-ROTATION PRACTICE, THE CFI PASSED CONTROL OF THE HELICOPTER TO THE STUDENT PLT. AT APRX 10 FT ABOVE THE GROUND, THE CFI ATTEMPTED TO APPLY CORRECTIVE ACTION WHEN IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE ACFT WAS GOING TO MAKE A HARD LANDING. THE ATTEMPT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL, AND THE TAIL ROTOR STRUCK THE GROUND. THE CFI STATED THAT PERHAPS HE HAD WAITED A LITTLE TOO LONG BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO REASSUME CONTROL OF THE ACFT FROM THE STUDENT PLT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_MIA86LA074.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.