Robinson R22 BETA N40725

Summary

On 27 April 2004 at about 13:31 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N40725 was involved in an accident near Rochester, Minnesota, 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

27 April 2004 at 13:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Rochester Muni (RST)

Coordinates

43.9072, -92.4989

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N40725

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rochester → Rochester

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA111

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during landing. Contributing factors were the aircraft's low altitude and the pilot's limited flight experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during landing on runway 31. The pilot reported that he was conducting a straight-in approach. He recalled that the approach was smooth until he crossed the runway threshold, about 10 feet above ground level, at which point he "felt very slight buffeting." The pilot attributed this to wake turbulence from a business jet which had departed approximately two minutes before he reached the runway. He decided to abort the landing and applied forward cyclic to begin building some airspeed. He reported that "within two seconds the helicopter began to pitch and roll severely." His efforts to stabilized the aircraft were not successful. He decided to land in spite of the unstable condition because he was not sure that he would be able to maintain control. He reported that he lowered the collective and, just prior to contact with the ground, increased collective in an attempt to cushion the impact. The left skid contacted the ground and collapsed. The helicopter came to rest on its left side. A post-accident examination conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed no indication of any pre-impact anomalies. The pilot reported that there were no failures or malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. Winds at RST, recorded at 0754, were from 260 degrees at 5 knots. At 0854, winds were from 240 degrees at 6 knots. The pilot reported 28.3 hours total flight time and 3.0 hours of pilot-in-command (solo) flight time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.