Robinson R22 BETA N7185A

Summary

On 11 January 2002 at about 19:31 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N7185A was involved in an accident near Renton, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 January 2002 at 19:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Renton, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.4492, -122.2261

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N7185A

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Seattle → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA02LA026

2 people had minor injuries.

The flight instructor's failure to ensure that adequate altitude/clearance above the ground was maintained during hovering flight, resulting in an inadvertent ground contact and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. A factor was the flight instructor's failure to ensure adequate control of the aircraft was maintained in the hover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident occurred during a hover demonstration to a prospective student on an introductory helicopter flight. The dual student reported that at the time of the accident, they were hovering at 4 to 5 feet. The dual student reported that the instructor had a hold of the cyclic, and that "I had a loose grip on it and we tipped back." The student stated that "We went straight up in the air for ten to fifteen feet and immediately banked left, almost up side down." The instructor reported that after demonstrating hovering flight to the student, she had the student take hold of the cyclic control with her. She stated that while maintaining control of the collective and pedals, she verified cyclic control transfer with the student and let her hand loose around the cyclic grip. The instructor reported that the helicopter then began to drift slightly sideways, forward and backward. She stated that she then took the cyclic control back and stabilized the hover. She stated that she then briefly described hovering flight to the student again, then had him take hold of the cyclic with her again as she kept control of the collective and pedals. She stated that after verifying cyclic control transfer with the student, she again let her hand loose around the cyclic grip. She reported that the helicopter then started to move forward. She stated that the student "reacted by applying gradual aft cyclic at first, then quickly applied more aft cyclic." She stated that, "Before full correction could be applied, the aircraft hit the ground. The helicopter then lifted back up a little, and started spinning to the right before falling on its side." The operator's accident report to the NTSB indicated that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.