Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505 accident near Lago Vista, Texas, November 11, 2024
On November 11, 2024 at about 4:50 pm local time, a 2018 Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505, registered N1243Y, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach near Lago Vista, Texas (Lago Vista Tx/Rusty Allen airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 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 flight instructor’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation 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
- November 11, 2024 · about 4:50 pm local time
- Place
- Lago Vista, Texas · Lago Vista Tx/Rusty Allen · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505, built 2018 · all 505s on the register
- Registration
- N1243Y · registry record · serial 65137
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While conducting an instructional flight, the flight instructor reported that he and the student pilot were practicing straight-in autorotation approaches in the helicopter with a power recovery. The helicopter was configured with a throttle control switch rather than a twistable throttle control. During the fifth autorotation approach, the flight instructor forgot to move the throttle control from “Idle” to “Fly” prior to flaring the helicopter. The helicopter descended and landed hard on the runway. During the hard landing, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that contributed to the accident.
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
- Simulated/training event during approach
- Autorotation Hard landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Powerplant parameters › Incorrect use/operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,160 hours in all; 83.8 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 6,000 as pilot in command; 52 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 15, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 120 hours in all; 7.3 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 366.4 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 10, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 3,680 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Safran Arrius 2R (turboshaft); 366 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 3,800 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 9:30 am from KRYW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on February 12, 2025. 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 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photo | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CEN25LA084.