NTSB WPR23LA009 — 2022-10-08 · Moab, Utah, United States

Current FAA registration · N874BB

Make / Model: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 505
Year of manufacture: 2019 · 3 years old at event
Engine: SAFRAN ARRIUS 2R (460 hp)
Seats / Engines: 5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20190826
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AC054D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N874BB BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 505 Serious

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s loss of helicopter control during landing, that resulted in a dynamic roll over.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, he was initiating a landing to a ledge. As the landing skids contacted the ground, the pilot felt the helicopter settle tail first. Startled by this, he abruptly raised the collective, unaware that he was holding forward cyclic input. As power was applied, the rear skids lifted off the ground first, creating a nose low attitude. The helicopter subsequently rolled over onto its right side substantially damaging the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR23LA009.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type. All research papers

NASA NTRS 2019 · Presentation Failure Analysis of T-38 Aircraft Burst Hydraulic Aileron Return Line

During maintenance troubleshooting for fluctuating hydraulic pressures, a technician found that a right hand aileron return line, on the flight hydraulic side, was ruptured (Fig. 1, 2).