Bell 407 accident near Chesterfield, Virginia, November 16, 2023
On November 16, 2023, a 2006 Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N26VA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chesterfield, Virginia (Richmond Exec/Chesterfield Cou). 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
A hard landing, which resulted in a main rotor strike of the left vertical stablizer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 16, 2023
- Place
- Chesterfield, Virginia · Richmond Exec/Chesterfield Cou · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407, built 2006 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N26VA · registry record · serial 53688
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The night training flight was conducted using night vision goggles, and a crew change was conducted while helicopter continued to operate. The maneuvers conducted included hovering, straight-in and 180° autorotations to touchdown, hydraulics off flight, and stuck-pedal flight to touchdown. The flight instructor and the two pilots described the maneuvers as smooth and controlled with no hard landings. A post-flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the left vertical stabilizer, and “rub marks and scratches” on the underside of each main rotor blade consistent with main rotor contact. A main rotor strike of the vertical fin likely occurred during a hard landing at the termination of an autoration, but the investigation was unable to determine the specific training event during which the main rotor strike occurred.
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 › Flight crew
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Capability exceeded
- Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,700 hours in all; 5,605 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 6,757 as pilot in command; 4,976 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 20, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 862 hours in all; 307 in this make and model; 751 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 13, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,600 hours in all; 690 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 6,400 as pilot in command; 800 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 24, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,610 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 2, 2023; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,250 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (turboshaft); 4,604 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway Taxi
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Observation at 6:56 pm from FCI
Weather report (METAR): KFCI 152356Z AUTO 00000KT CLR 08/03 RMK AO2 SLPNO T00780028 10150 20072 PWINO $=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on September 27, 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 | PDF, 12 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 Instructor Information | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Crew Statements | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Photo Array | PDF, 3 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 ERA24LA045.