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.
La Ward, TX
The pilot was conducting helicopter aerial applications to a field and had just reversed course when he felt the helicopter start to descend. The pilot added power, "rolled the throttle all the way on," and increased collective and the descent continued. The pilot flared the helicopter and before it impacted the ground, the helicopter rolled and came to rest in a field, resulting in substantial damage. It is likely that the pilot lost control of the helicopter during the turn, resulting in the unexpected descent. Because the helicopter was at low altitude, the pilot did not have time to arrest the descent before impacting the ground. Postaccident examination found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.
The pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control during a course reversal, which resulted in impact with terrain.
On June 21, 2019, about 1215 central daylight time, a Robinson R44 helicopter, N445AP, was substantially damaged when it impacted a field near La Ward, Texas. The commercial pilot was not injured. The aerial application flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. According to the pilot, during the aerial application flight to a field he had just reversed his course and was preparing for the next application pass when he felt the helicopter start to descend. The pilot added power and the descent continued. The pilot "rolled the throttle all the way on" and increased collective without a change in the decent rate. As the helicopter descended towards the field it started to shake; the pilot flared the helicopter and before it impacted the ground, the helicopter rolled and then came to rest in the field. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the accident, the tail boom separated from the helicopter, the fuselage was wrinkled, the landing skids collapsed, and the main rotor was impact damaged. He stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations.