Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF accident near Marana, Arizona, January 31, 2011
On January 31, 2011 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF (helicopter), registered N530RL, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Marana, Arizona. It was a public-use flight (local) under public-use (government) rules. 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadvertent tail rotor strike during an attempted pinnacle landing, which resulted in the pilot's loss of control of the helicopter. Inhospitable terrain/topography contributed to the severity of the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 2011 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Marana, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF · all 369FFs on the register
- Registration
- N530RL · registry record · serial 0602FF
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight (local) · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The four-place, turbine-powered helicopter was being operated by the county sheriff's department in support of a county emergency communications system development and construction project. The accident flight was intended to enable technical personnel to conduct a site survey for the planned installation of a communications repeater tower near the top of a mountain. The sheriff's department pilot had satisfactorily completed training for and had demonstrated confined area, slope, and pinnacle landings. None of the three passengers were helicopter pilots, and no anti-torque pedals were installed at the front passenger's station. The mountain's remote location and its topography prevented postaccident availability of specific meteorological conditions at the time of the accident, but analysis of available data indicated that mostly overcast skies, intermittent rain, and a generally westerly wind at 10 to 15 knots were present. Those conditions were within the helicopter's and pilot's performance capabilities. The helicopter orbited the peak for general reconnoitering before the pilot attempted a landing. The pilot's selected landing zone was on a relatively level area of a pinnacle on the northeast side of the mountain, and the approach was from the southeast. The passengers reported that during the landing attempt, they felt a bump, and the helicopter rose a few feet, then the nose pitched down, and the helicopter began to spin to the right. The main rotor blades struck a rock outcrop, and the helicopter tumbled and slid about 120 feet down a shallow canyon on the northeast face of the peak before it was halted by rocks and scrub vegetation. The wreckage was examined in situ, recovered, and examined in detail. All components were accounted for. All damage patterns were consistent with the helicopter's low-speed impact with terrain in the horizontal and vertical planes, and its subsequent tumble down the canyon. The engine successfully met specification power settings during an operational run in a test fixture. No evidence of any preexisting mechanical defect or malfunction was noted during the examination or testing of the airframe and engine. Main and tail rotor damage patterns and debris distribution were consistent with rotor strikes under power. The witness and passenger descriptions of the helicopter's motions are consistent with a tail rotor ground strike and a subsequent loss of directional control. Although no reliable ground scars indicative of a tail rotor strike were found, that was likely precluded by the rocky, hard surface of the landing zone.
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
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Loss of control in flight during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Roll over during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Tail rotor › Tail rotor blade › Damaged/degraded
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- factor Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Mountainous/hilly terrain › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,500 hours in all; 186 in this make and model
- Last flight review: September 1, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,726 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 12, 2011; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C30 SER (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pima County Sheriff'S Department
The flight
- Departed from: TUS Tucson AZ at 5:45 pm
- Destination: Marana AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N530RL 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 WPR11GA115.