Helio H-250 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, July 7, 2005
On July 7, 2005 at about 2:00 am local time, a Helio H-250, registered N333TB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A fracture failure of the main landing gear leg during the landing roll, which resulted in the collapse of the main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 7, 2005 · about 2:00 am local time · cases in 2005
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill Field · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Helio H-250 · all H-250s on the register
- Registration
- N333TB · registry record · serial 2530
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The first pilot, a certificated flight instructor, was providing flight instruction and recurrent training to the second pilot, a certificated private pilot. The first pilot said that after an uneventful touchdown on the dry and paved asphalt runway, a loud shuddering noise was heard as the second pilot applied the brakes. As the landing roll continued, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the runway. The airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing. A postaccident review of the fractured right main landing gear leg assembly in the fracture zone, disclosed brownish rust-colored deposits that covered about 1/4 of the circumference of the main landing gear tube. The remaining 3/4 circumference of the main landing gear tube had a 45-degree sheer lip, with the fracture surfaces consistent with an overload failure.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,070 hours in all; 41 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 1,963 as pilot in command; 45 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,245 hours in all; 601 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,186 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,088.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2005; 17.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 8:00 pm
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 4,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.48 inHg
- Observation at 8:59 pm from MRI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N333TB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N333TB on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Helio H-250 11 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Helio 120 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1B5 4 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Merrill Field · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 823 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N333TB 2 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC05LA097.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.