Helicopter Came To Rest Upright On A Southwest Heading, With Its Tailboom Severed Just Aft Of The Engine

Location: Santa Teresa, NM Accident Number: WPR25LA101
Date & Time: February 22, 2025, 16:20 Local Registration: N4191T
Aircraft: Hughes OH-6A Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional

On February 22, 2025, about 1620, a Hughes OH-6A, N4191T, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The flight instructor and pilot undergoing instruction were not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

The flight instructor had just flown in the helicopter with its owner earlier in the day, and the flight was uneventful.

The accident flight was intended to be refresher training for the pilot undergoing instruction, rather than a formal flight review. For about 30 minutes they performed a series of practice maneuvers and once complete the flight instructor took the flight controls and initiated a hover taxi from the end of runway 28 to the helicopter pad about 500 ft to the southwest. 

About midway through the taxi, they felt a shudder in the airframe and the helicopter immediately yawed to the right. The flight instructor moved the throttle to idle and proceeded to lower the collective. The yaw transitioned into a spin, and the helicopter struck the ground on the incline of a gravel pit. The helicopter came to rest upright on a southwest heading, with its tailboom severed just aft of the engine. The tailrotor assembly including the vertical and horizontal stabilizers were located about 100 ft behind the helicopter.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov