Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Patricia, TX
The experimental amateur built helicopter was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while hovering in a field. The pilot reported that the helicopter was in a hover and he was surveying the field. He momentarily directed his attention to the instruments within the cockpit and during that time the helicopter contacted crops. The pilot stated that the helicopter experienced a 'dynamic rollover,' and came to rest on its side in the field.
The failure of the pilot to maintain terrain clearance with the crops during a surveying flight. A factor was the pilots diverted attention.
On August 1, 1997, at 0740 central daylight time, a Poor Boys Toys, Inc. Exec 90, experimental helicopter, N596PB, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while hovering in a field near Patricia, Texas. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the helicopter, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight from Lamesa Municipal Airport, near Lamesa, Texas, at 0700. No flight plan was filed for the flight. The pilot reported during a telephone interview, conducted by a representative of the Safety Board, that he was hovering the helicopter over a cultivated field. The pilot further stated that he momentarily directed his attention to the gauges in the cockpit and during this time the skids of the helicopter became in contact with the crops. The pilot stated that the helicopter experienced a "dynamic rollover" and came to rest on its side in the field. According to the FAA inspector that traveled to the accident site, the pilot was not rated in helicopters; however, he was properly cleared by his flight instructor for the solo flight. Examination of the helicopter by the FAA inspector revealed that both main rotor blades were bent. The tailboon section of the helicopter was severed at the attaching point to the fuselage. The windscreen was compromised. Multiple attempts to obtain a completed copy of the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) were unsuccessful.