Robinson R44 II N44NV accident near Bullhead City, Arizona

Probable cause

The pilot's misjudged landing flare, inadequate bounced landing recovery, and failure to maintain directional control during a bounced landing that resulted in the tail rotor blades colliding with a hangar. Contributing to the accident was the burned out landing lights.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that during the night flight, and prior to landing, he discovered that both landing lights were burned out. During the landing, the nose of the right skid contacted the ground and the helicopter bounced back into the air and rotated to the right resulting in the tail rotor striking a hangar. The helicopter rotated about 360 degrees before impacting the ground. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor gearbox attachment point. The pilot reported no other abnormalities with the helicopter prior to the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for LAX08CA057 for the full record.