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NYC88IA186

1988-07-12 · MANHATTAN, New York, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N135CP has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH EC 135 T2+, built 2009), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE APPEARS TO BE THE RESULT OF A STATIC DOWNWARD BENDING OVERSTRESS, CAUSED BY ANOTHER HELICOPTER HOVERING OVER OR VERY CLOSE TO THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE AS IT WAS IN A STATIC/STOPPED POSITION.

Factual narrative

AS THE PLT OF AN S-76 HELICOPTER WAS HOVERING TO PARK NEXT TO A PARKED MBB BK 117 HELICOPTER, N135CP, THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES OF N135CP BEGAN FLAPPING. SUBSEQUENTLY, ONE BLADE FAILED FROM DOWNWARD OVERLOAD, ABOUT 29 INCHES FROM THE MAIN RETAINING PIN CENTER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_NYC88IA186.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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