Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On May 31, 2003 at 1430 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206B III helicopter, N382SP, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Jeffco Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado. The commercial certificated flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for this local instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at approximately 1345.

According to the instructor, he demonstrated six (three left and three right), stuck pedal approaches [simulated loss of tail rotor effectiveness]. The student took the controls and set up for a simulated stuck right pedal approach to taxiway Delta. As the student added collective lever control at the end of the approach, the nose of the helicopter yawed to the right. Approximately 2 feet above the taxiway, the student rolled off the power to control the right yaw. The helicopter settled down in a tail low attitude, the rear of both landing skids struck the taxiway, and the helicopter rocked forward. When the instructor took the controls to stabilize the landing, the helicopter became airborne and the right skid tube struck the taxiway a second time. He rolled the helicopter forward, landed on both skid tubes, and slid the helicopter to a stop. The helicopter received substantial damage to both aft cross-tube saddle mounts. the student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and the instructor's inadequate supervision.