Robinson Helicopter R44 N668TM accident near Cookeville, Tennessee

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate decent rate during approach, resulting in a hard landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot of the helicopter was performing air tour flights from a county fairground. While landing, and performing a pedal turn about 30 ft above ground level, the helicopter began descending at a rate of about 200 ft per minute. As the pilot initiated forward cyclic to position over the landing zone, the helicopter suddenly dropped from an altitude of about 10 to 15 ft, and landed hard on the skids, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the the helicopter that would have prevented normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA048 for the full record.