Robinson R22 N747LF

Summary

On 8 December 2003 at about 20:30 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N747LF was involved in an accident near Spring, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

8 December 2003 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Spring, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.0617, -95.5528

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N747LF

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spring → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04CA039

Nobody was injured.

The CFI's delay in taking remedial action which resulted in a hard landing. An excessive descent rate was a contributing factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot initiated a practice straight-in autorotation on a southerly heading, "at 700 feet agl, and 70 knots." The fight instructor stated that the "approach angle and decent grew quite steep very quickly." As the "rotor rpm decayed to approximately 95% at an approximate altitude of 200 feet agl, the fight instructor initiated a go-around by rolling on the throttle, lifting the collective, and applying forward pressure on the cyclic while maintaining 60 knots as the helicopter continued to descend." The fight instructor initiated a "hard flare to stop the rate of decent, but the decent was slowed, not stopped." The fight instructor leveled the helicopter, and executed a run-on landing at approximately 30 knots. Subsequently, the helicopter landed hard on soft terrain, rolled over, and came to rest on its left side. The fight instructor further reported that the left skid "hooked on an obstruction" prior to rolling over. Examination of the accident site revealed there were no obstructions or obstacles near the main wreckage. A ground scar was found at the point of initial impact consistent with the length of the skid and was approximately once inch deep.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.