Eurocopter AS 350B-3 accident near Mesa, Arizona, November 15, 2000
On November 15, 2000 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Eurocopter AS 350B-3 (helicopter), registered N972AE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mesa, Arizona (Falcon Field). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 dual student's misjudged landing flare and level off, which resulted in a heel first touchdown and subsequent hard landing during a practice autorotation. Also causal was the instructor pilot's inadequate supervision of the student.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 2000 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mesa, Arizona · Falcon Field
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS 350B-3 · all AS 350B-3s on the register
- Registration
- N972AE · no longer on the register · serial 3234
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A practice autorotation to touchdown resulted in a hard landing and bent the tail boom of the helicopter at the fuselage attachment juncture. After first demonstrating a practice autorotation to touchdown, the instructor turned control of the helicopter over to the student to perform the next autorotation to landing. The instructor reported that the student's entry was abrupt resulting in first, high rotor rpm, then low rpm; however, the rpm was proper prior to initiating the landing flare. The student's initial pitch application during the flare was a little too high but satisfactory. As the aircraft neared the landing, additional collective was applied, but it was insufficient to check the sink rate and the heels of the skids made ground contact, rocking the helicopter first forward onto the toe of the skid and then back down on the full skid. The pilot heard a metallic sound and, on external inspection, found the tail boom was bent down.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,547 hours in all; 1,540 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 11,678 as pilot in command; 1,649 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 278 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 6, 2000; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,961 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL 2B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Petroleum Helicopters, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FFZ at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:59 pm from FFZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.