Hiller UH-12D accident near Farmingdale, New Jersey, October 24, 1997
On October 24, 1997 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Hiller UH-12D (helicopter), registered N62316, was substantially damaged in an accident near Farmingdale, New Jersey (Allaire 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The certificated flight instructor's inadequate supervision and failure to maintain directional control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 1997 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Farmingdale, New Jersey · Allaire
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH-12D · all UH-12Ds on the register
- Registration
- N62316 · no longer on the register · serial 1391
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was hover taxing when the certificated flight instructor (CFI) rolled the throttle to the idle position and announced a 'simulated an engine failure.' The helicopter yawed to the left and pitched nose down. The CFI took control of the helicopter . The helicopter then spun to right, and the tail rotor contacted the ground.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,194 hours in all; 286 in this make and model; 196 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 2,009 as pilot in command; 329 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,792 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 14, 1997; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO435-A1C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BLM NJ at 5:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from BLM
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.