Robinson R22 BETA N926SH

Summary

On 3 October 2005 at about 14:45 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N926SH was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, 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

3 October 2005 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Tucson International (TUS)

Coordinates

32.4094, -111.2183

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N926SH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06CA001

2 people had minor injuries.

the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and rotor rpm during a practice autorotation, and the instructor's failure to adequately monitor the maneuver, which resulted in a hard landing and roll over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter touched down hard and rolled over following a practice 180-degree autorotation. The instructor pilot reported that he was having his student practice a number of autorotations for an upcoming check ride. During the last autorotation, the student rolled out of the turn; the helicopter slowed to 60 knots, and the low rotor rpm warning horn sounded and the caution light illuminated. The instructor called for a go-around about 80 feet above the ground, but the rotor rpm did not increase. He took control of the helicopter from the student and applied collective and forward cyclic to touchdown in a level pitch attitude. The helicopter impacted the ground and began sliding to the side. The right skid dug into the soft ground and the helicopter rolled over three times before coming to rest on its left side. The instructor and student reported no anomalies with the 218-hour helicopter prior to the event. The flight school that employed the instructor had a policy, which dictated that instructors were to perform practice autorotations at a controlled airport equipped with emergency response equipment; however, if they did not, they were supposed to recover from autorotations 500 feet above the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.