MD Helicopters INC 369E accident near Pearland, Texas, August 30, 2022
On August 30, 2022 at about 2:55 am local time, a 2006 MD Helicopters INC 369E, registered N1576F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pearland, Texas (Pearland Rgnl airport). It was an instructional flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot receiving instruction’s failure to maintain aircraft control, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2022 · about 2:55 am local time
- Place
- Pearland, Texas · Pearland Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- MD Helicopters INC 369E, built 2006 · all 369Es on the register
- Registration
- N1576F · registry record · serial 0568E
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that he and the commercial pilot receiving instruction were practicing simulated autorotations with power recovery. During one autorotation, as the helicopter was flared at the conclusion of the autorotation, the flight instructor increased the engine throttle and waited for the pilot receiving instruction to increase collective. When he did not feel the collective control move, the flight instructor pulled up on the collective, but the helicopter struck the ground before it could ascend. The pilot receiving instruction stated that during the flare, he did not feel the engine power increase like he had felt on previous autorotations; the helicopter sank fast and struck the ground. The main rotor of the helicopter severed the tail boom during the hard landing. Examination of the helicopter and a subsequent engine test run in a test cell did not reveal any anomalies that would explain a loss of engine power. Based on the available evidence, the accident was the result of the pilot receiving instruction’s failure to increase collective at the conclusion of the autorotation and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial response, which resulted in a hard landing.
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 › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Instructor/check pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Prop/rotor parameters › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,339 hours in all; 1,138 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 1,264 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 12, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,528 hours in all; 3,383 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 3,458 as pilot in command; 27 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce M250-C20B (turboshaft); 4,728 hours total
- Operator: City Of Houston Police Dept
The flight
- Departed from: HOU Houston TX at 2:20 am
- Destination: LVJ Pearland TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14, 4,313 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 020° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from KLVJ
Weather report (METAR): METAR KLVJ 300253Z AUTO 02003KT 10SM CLR 26/24 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP139 60000 T02610244 53010=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN22LA402.