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).
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 2024 · about 4:50 pm local time · cases in 2024
- Place
- Lago Vista, Texas · Lago Vista Tx/Rusty Allen · cases near this airport · 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 |
Photographs from the investigation 1 picture from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
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
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 · 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
- N1243Y on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Bell 505 195 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Bell 3,080 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Safran Arrius 2R 143 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Lago Vista Tx/Rusty Allen Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Texas 6,244 since 1982 · 1,061 in the last ten years
- Texas 29,986 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN25LA084.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.