FULTON, NY, USA
N5981X
Brantly Helicopter B-2
The instructor and student reported that the landing followed 45 minutes of training manuevers. After landing the engine was shut down. They checked for tightness of nuts on the intake manifold, which were tightened before the flight due to looseness. After verifying the tightness, they decided to check the manifold pressure by running the engine to 26 inches of manifold pressure. According to the pilot, the helicopter became light on the skids but did not break ground. The helicopter was set down and shortly afterward rolled over. Examination of the accident site revealed 50 feet of skid marks leading to the helicopter. Inspection of the helicopter disclosed that the left skid had collapsed.
On June 12, 1996, about 1415 eastern daylight time, a Brantly B-2 helicopter was substantially damaged at Oswego County Airport, Fulton, New York. The certificated flight instructor(CFI) and private pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the CFI stated that he noticed loose nuts on the intake manifold during pre-flight. The CFI and student pilot tightened the nuts and continued with the instructional flight. After takeoff and 40 to 45 minutes of maneuvers, they landed the aircraft, turned off power, and exited. They said that they wanted to check the intake manifold. After finding all satisfactory, they performed a maintenance run to check the manifold pressure. After raising the manifold pressure up to 26 inches the pilot said the aircraft became "light on the skids" but did not break ground. After setting the aircraft back down it rolled left and to the rear. The main rotor blades impacted the ground and separated from the aircraft. Post accident examination of the wreckage by the FAA Inspector revealed the left rear oleo strut had failed by separating from the top of the strut. Also, sets of skid marks were found leading to the accident location. The first set were found approximately 50 feet away.
the student pilot's improper flare and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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