Hughes OH-6A accident near Hernando, Mississippi, November 25, 2001
On November 25, 2001 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Hughes OH-6A (helicopter), registered N129BC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hernando, Mississippi (Fergussons Private Strip airport). 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's improper supervision of the dual student during a practice autorotation landing by allowing an excessive aft pitch attitude and low main rotor rpm conditions to develop during the landing/flare touchdown, which resulted in the helicopter making a hard landing on the heels of the skids, and the main rotor severing the tail boom.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 25, 2001 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hernando, Mississippi · Fergussons Private Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes OH-6A · all OH-6As on the register
- Registration
- N129BC · registry record · serial 67-1B214
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor stated that he and the dual student were performing autorotations, and the student flared the helicopter at an altitude of about 65 feet, and applied initial collective pitch control input at about 10 feet, leveling the helicopter. The instructor said that the aircraft was about 2 feet high, and still moving forward, and at that point the student did not let the helicopter settle to the ground, but continued to apply collective pitch control input. He said he stopped the student from applying collective pitch control input and the aircraft descended, but during the descent the student applied aft cyclic control input, causing the aircraft to hit on the heels of the skids, while rotor rpms were low. The instructor said, that as a result, the main rotor blades contacted the tail boom, severing the tail just forward of the tail rotor gear box.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 95 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 8,900 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 15, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 520 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 300 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 17, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,129 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 5, 2001; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C10D (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Hernando MS at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from MEM, 25 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N129BC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 MIA02LA029.