Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505 accident near Fort Worth, Texas, December 19, 2025
On December 19, 2025 at about 2:25 pm local time, a 2017 Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505, registered N505TZ, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Fort Worth, Texas (Bell South airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s inadequate supervision during the approach and delayed remedial action, which resulted in a loss of control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 19, 2025 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Worth, Texas · Bell South · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 505, built 2017 · all 505s on the register
- Registration
- N505TZ · registry record · serial 65012
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The company’s chief flight instructor reported that during a hydraulic system training maneuver, the pilot receiving instruction established too high of a sink rate, and the helicopter bounced upon touchdown. The helicopter then yawed to the right and bounced a second time before starting a slide towards the edge of the runway. The pilot receiving instruction attempted to correct by pushing the collective full down, however, the flight instructor realized that the helicopter would not come to a stop before exiting the runway and attempted to lift the helicopter back into the air. Before the helicopter could lift off, the left skid contacted the grass, the helicopter rolled to the left, and the main rotor contacted the ground. The helicopter then rolled to the right and came to rest on its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor system, tail rotor system, and tail boom. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The chief flight instructor reported the accident could have been prevented if the flight instructor would have recognized the excessive rate of descent and made the necessary control inputs.
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
- Loss of control in flight during landing defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Roll over during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Student/instructed pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: unkn
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,690 hours in all; 88 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 1,493 as pilot in command; 1,493 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 15, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,280 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 9, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 3,680 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca ARRIUS 2R (turboshaft); 1,159 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway Lane, 1,600 ft by 65 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 7:52 am from KNFW, 7 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KNFW 191352Z 00000KT 10SM FEW250 02/M04 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP205 T00221044 $=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on April 16, 2026. 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 | Photo Array | 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.
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 CEN26LA065.