Accidents
Vortex Ring Drill Triggered Bell 429 In-flight Break-up
NTSB faults pilot, instructor in 2022 fatal accident
Bell 429 crash April 2022
The NTSB cited "the pilots' inappropriate flight control inputs while in vortex ring state" as the probable cause of the April 26, 2022 accident.

The NTSB is faulting the actions of both student and instructor practicing a vortex ring state (VRS) recovery maneuver in a Bell 429 that led to an in-flight breakup and their deaths.

According to the NTSB, the probable cause of the April 26, 2022, accident in Elba, New York, was “the pilots' inappropriate flight control inputs while in vortex ring state, which resulted in main rotor blade contact with the tail boom and a subsequent in-flight breakup. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring of the flight.” A different student faulted the instructor for not reacting during an accelerated sink rate on a previous VRS exercise.

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