Bell 206B N418SV accident near West Palm Beach, Florida

Probable cause

A hard landing for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

NTSB analysis

The pilot, who was also the owner of the helicopter, reported that, after uneventfully completing a local flight, she observed a crack in the left skid. Further examination by a mechanic revealed additional substantial damage consistent with a hard landing. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger stated that no hard landings occurred during the local flight.

The pilot also reported that, 2 days before the accident, a flight instructor had conducted two instructional flights in the accident helicopter at a different airport. According to the flight instructor and the two pilots receiving instruction on those flights, no hard landings occurred during the two flights, and they observed no damage during the two preflight and postflight inspections. Additionally, following those flights, the pilot repositioned the helicopter back to its home airport and did not notice any damage during the preflight or postflight inspection. The pilot added that the helicopter was not flown between the repositioning flight and the local flight after which the damage was discovered. The investigation could not determine when the damage occurred or who was flying the helicopter when it did.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA15LA060 for the full record.