NTSB Factual Report

On May 17, 2003, at 0955 eastern daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS355F2, N42AT, registered to Betaco Inc., operated by American Trans Air Executive Jet Inc., as a 14 CFR Part 91positioning flight, landed hard from a hover at the Decatur County Industrial Park, Bainbridge, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The helicopter received substantial damage. The commercial pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Decatur County Industrial Park, Bainbridge, Georgia, at 0955 on May 17, 2003.

The pilot stated he had just completed refueling and picked the helicopter up to a hover. He hovered over to another position on the ramp and turned the helicopter into the wind. He lowered the collective pitch and set the helicopter down hard on the ramp. The right rear skid contacted the ground and the aircraft began to shutter. After completing the engine shutdown he exited the helicopter and noticed that the tail boom support spar was cracked, the skin on both sides of the tailboom was wrinkled and the star flex composite lead lag stabilizer was broken.

Review of pilot training records obtained from Eurocopter revealed the pilot completed transition ground school and 3 hours of flight training in the AS355 on March 21, 2003. The pilot had logged 7.5 hours total flight time in the AS355 at the time of the accident, however the review of the pilot's flight logs also showed that he had accumulated 1,407 hours in helicopters.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's improper flare during an attempted landing.