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).
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2022 · about 2:55 am local time · cases in 2022
- Place
- Pearland, Texas · Pearland Rgnl · 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
- 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Front view of helicopter during examination (NTSB Photo)
Photograph 2 – Side view of helicopter during examination (NTSB Photo)
Photograph 3 – Helicopter tail rotor (NTSB Photo)The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
7 documents, released by the NTSB on February 28, 2024. 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 (CFI) | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (Student) | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Rolls Royce Engine Report | PDF, 17 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Aircraft Examination Notes | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 7 | Examination Photos | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1576F on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Md Helicopters Inc 369 108 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Engine: Rolls-Royce M250-C20B 12 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Pearland Regional · nearest airport
- William P Hobby Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Texas 6,244 since 1982 · 1,064 in the last ten years
- Texas 29,958 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN22LA402.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.