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Atlas / NTSB / NYC86LA013

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event NYC86LA013

1985-10-18 STERLING, Massachusetts, United States Airport · 3B3 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN THE CFI ALLOWED THE STUDENT WHO WAS IN A HOVER MANEUVER TO LOSE ROTOR RPM. THE HELICOPTER DRIFT REARWARD, THE LEFT REAR SKID DUG INTO THE GROUND AND THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER. RPM DECAYED SO BADLY THAT THE HELICOPTER COULD NOT RESPOND TO RECOVERY CONTROL INPUTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_NYC86LA013.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.