Eurocopter AS350 accident near Romeo, Michigan, September 15, 2021
On September 15, 2021 at about 2:50 pm local time, a 2002 Eurocopter AS350 (helicopter), registered N632SD, was substantially damaged in an accident near Romeo, Michigan (Romeo State Airport). 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
The flight instructor’s failure to reposition the fuel control to the flight detent during a practice autorotation, which resulted in insufficient engine power to arrest the helicopter’s decent and a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 2021 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Romeo, Michigan · Romeo State Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS350 B2, built 2002 · all AS350s on the register
- Registration
- N632SD · registry record · serial 3519
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that he intended to demonstrate to the student pilot a 180° autorotation with a power recovery near the ground. He planned to transition the helicopter into to a hover about 5 to 10 ft above ground level at the end of the maneuver. The instructor initially set the engine fuel control to the idle detent to simulate an engine failure and then entered an autorotation. As the autorotation progressed, the flight instructor repositioned the engine fuel control, but he failed to ensure that it had been placed into the flight detent. Without sufficient engine power at the end of the maneuver, the helicopter continued to descend with a low rotor speed, landed hard, and slid to a stop on the runway. Then the helicopter violently rocked side to side before the main rotor stopped rotating. During the accident sequence, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to a main rotor Starflex arm and the tail rotor driveshaft. Both the flight instructor and his student reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Autorotation Hard landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,760 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 338 as pilot in command; 505 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 19, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 28 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,357 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 13, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 4,961 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: County Of Oakland
The flight
- Departed from: D95 Lapeer MI at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18/3, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 21,000 ft; a few clouds at 3,900 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on April 28, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 - Flight Instructor | PDF, 12 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 - Student Pilot | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 3 | FAA Inspector's Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Photos | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.