Robinson R22 BETA N215WW

Summary

On 21 May 1999 at about 21:05 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N215WW was involved in an accident near East Troy, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 May 1999 at 21:05

Classification

Accident

Location

East Troy, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.7800, -88.3899

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N215WW

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99LA157

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper approach to landing A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's inadvertent settling with power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was practicing a pinnacle approach to a specific point in a fallow farm field. The pilot stated that he began a descent towards the landing point and at an altitude of approximately 10 feet agl he began his final vertical descent. The pilot reported that the helicopter began to, '...shudder violently,' and he made the determination that the shuddering was a result from settling with power. The pilot stated that he tried to maneuver the helicopter out of the rotor-blade turbulence by moving the cyclic forward but the helicopter began to descend at an increasing rate. The pilot reported that he was too low to lower collective and he tried to arrest the descent by increasing the helicopter's pitch. The helicopter impacted the ground on the skids and rolled over on the windscreen. The retreating main rotor blade struck the tail-boom, separating it from the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.