Event WPR13CA253

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that during an instructional flight, the helicopter was at 500 feet above ground level when he rolled the throttle off with the intent for the student to respond by initiating a straight in autorotation. The student pilot did not respond properly, so the instructor took over to initiate a power recovery. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, deforming both skids and substantially damaging the airframe. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failure with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that during an instructional flight, the helicopter was 500 feet above ground level when he rolled the throttle off with the intent for the student to respond by initiating a straight-in autorotation. The student pilot did not respond properly, so the instructor took the controls to initiate a power recovery. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, deforming both skids and substantially damaging the airframe. The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent rate-Not attained/maintained - C