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NYC07CA220

2007-09-08 · Greenville, South Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GMU

N505RA has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CESSNA T206H, built 2016), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper descent rate during a precautionary landing, which resulted in a settling with power condition and a subsequent hard landing.

Factual narrative

The AS-350B2 helicopter was refueled, and the pilot departed on a repositioning flight. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot noticed that the key for the fuel tank cap was not in the cockpit, and he elected to make a precautionary landing to a soccer field, to check the fuel cap. During the landing approach, the helicopter began to settle, it subsequently landed hard, bounced, and rolled over. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions and stated he thought the helicopter entered into a settling with power condition. Calm winds were reported at an airport located about 4 miles east of the accident site, about the time of the accident; however, the pilot reported he experienced tailwind gusts during the approach. The AS-350B2 helicopter was refueled, and the pilot departed on a repositioning flight. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot noticed that the key for the fuel tank cap was not in the cockpit, and he elected to make a precautionary landing to a soccer field, to check the fuel cap. During the landing approach, the helicopter began to settle, it subsequently landed hard, bounced, and rolled over. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions and stated he thought the helicopter entered into a settling with power condition. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2007_NYC07CA220.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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