Mcdonnell Douglas MD600N accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, January 18, 1997
On January 18, 1997 at about 7:20 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD600N (helicopter), registered N9202L, was destroyed in an accident near Flagstaff, Arizona (Flagstaff Pulliam airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the manufacturer to follow its directive to develop corrective measures in response to known accident data, and their failure to ensure that pertinent information (in engineering department) was communicated to the test pilot and flight test engineer (in flight test).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 1997 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Flagstaff, Arizona · Flagstaff Pulliam · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD600N
- Registration
- N9202L · no longer on the register · serial RN002
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a certification test flight, the pilot was following test card procedures to establish parameters for a height-velocity diagram. He began an autorotation, using a 1-second delay (to simulate pilot reaction time) before lowering the collective. As the autorotation progressed, the helicopter developed a rate of descent that the pilot was unable to check. Subsequently, the helicopter touched down hard, the skids collapsed, and the tailboom was severed by the main rotor blades. The helicopter slid off the runway into snow and rolled onto its right side. Circumstances identified in this accident had been identified during previous investigations of flight test accidents with this helicopter, but that information had not been provided to this test pilot and flight test engineer.
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: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,379 hours in all; 1,213 in this make and model; 133 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 8,176 as pilot in command; 5,007 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 112 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 10, 1997; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C47M (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLG at 6:46 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 3, 6,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:35 pm from FLG
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.