Robinson R22 BETA N7681H

Summary

On 13 March 2007 at about 23:15 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N7681H, operated by Premier Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado, 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

13 March 2007 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Broomfield, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Jeffco (BJC)

Coordinates

39.9089, -105.1172

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N7681H

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Premier Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Broomfield → Broomfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN07CA072

Nobody was injured.

The instructor's failure to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was the windshear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, he was demonstrating a "full-down" autorotation into a 20-knot headwind. About 20 feet above the ground, the wind diminished and the rotor RPM decayed. The pilot flared the helicopter, but it impacted the taxiway at 40 knots and at a 1,000 feet per minute descent rate. The helicopter bounced and the main rotor blades struck the tail boom. A systems examination revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.