Robinson R22 N777UH

Summary

On 25 August 2005 at about 23:00 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N777UH was involved in an accident near Falcon, Colorado, 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

25 August 2005 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Falcon, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Meadow Lake Airport (00V)

Coordinates

39.0307, -104.4798

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N777UH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Limon → Falcon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN05LA130

2 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while conducting a hovering maneuver.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he was conducting a hovering maneuver. He said everything was normal until the helicopter was in a 5 foot hover above the surface moving at a "fast walking pace". The helicopter descended to approximately 2 feet above the surface when the pilot pulled in more power to arrest the descent. The helicopter skipped off of the surface, the low-rotor warning light illuminated, and the aural horn sounded. The helicopter turned to the right, impacting the right skid, then bounced back to the left skid, and rolled over on its left side. The pilot stated that he could smell fuel so his passenger turned off the fuel switch while he turned off all electrical switches. He also stated that he could not get his seatbelt unbuckled because it was too close to the collective. He eventually ripped the collective up to release the seatbelt buckle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.