Helicopters crash - Train on this in a simulator..... Curt Lewis

Helicopter has hard landing at Fullerton Airport, authorities say, with no one injured

FULLERTON - A practice maneuver went awry Wednesday morning and led to a helicopter's hard landing at Fullerton Airport, which prompted emergency personnel to respond but no one was hurt, authorities said.

Two pilots with 30-years experience crash land their helicopter near Orange County Fire Authority's headquarters at Fullerton Municipal Airport while doing an annual training exercise Wednesday in Fullerton on Wednesday.

An experienced pilot, accompanied by another pilot who is a training instructor, was attempting a maneuver at 10 a.m. in which the helicopter's hydraulic system is shut off while it hovers 3-feet off of the ground, said Kathy Schaefer, a division chief for the Fullerton and Brea fire departments.

The helicopter started spinning and the training pilot, who has 30 years of years of experience, took over the controls, shut the helicopter's engine off and landed on the runway.

The pilot who was originally behind the control was undergoing annual training.

A small amount of fuel leaked from the Long Beach-based helicopter following the hard landing. The impact sheared off the helicopter's tail.

A check of the helicopter's tail number with flightaware.com shows the aircraft was owned by the U.S. Department of Justice in Fort Worth, Texas in 2006.

Chaparral Air Group, based in Grapevine, Texas took ownership of the helicopter in 2011, according to the website.