NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR23LA061
Registry · N130WS
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
EUROCOPTER EC 130 B4
Year of manufacture
2003 · 19 years old at event
TCDS
H9EU · AIRBUS HELICOPTERS
Engine
TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2B1 (747 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20030915
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A07D36
Registrant of record
WORLD TRADE ENTERPRISES LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's loss of helicopter control on approach to land due to entering a vortex ring state condition, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot in the helicopter reported that, he turned final approach at about 100 ft above ground level and the helicopter started settling with power [entered vortex ring state]. The pilot attempted to stop the descent by applying collective and forward cyclic, but the helicopter subsequently landed hard and sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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).
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2022_WPR23LA061.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.