Robinson R22 BETA N805EH

Summary

On 4 December 2007 at about 22:55 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N805EH, operated by Golden Eagle Enterprises, Inc., was involved in an incident near Fresno, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 December 2007 at 22:55

Classification

Incident

Location

Fresno, California, United States

Nearest airport

Fresno Chandler Executive (FCH)

Coordinates

36.7322, -119.8203

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N805EH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Golden Eagle Enterprises, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fresno → Fresno

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08IA032

Nobody was injured.

Failure of the tail rotor system support bracket during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Just as the helicopter touched down while performing a hovering autorotation, the certified flight instructor (CFI) heard a loud 'snap’ coming from the right side. The CFI took the controls from the student and attempted to neutralize the anti-torque pedals, but reported that they were stuck in place, with the right pedal in the forward position. He reduced the engine rpm’s to 75 percent, and attempted to move the pedals to no avail. At that point, he instructed the student to start the shutdown procedures. Following a normal shutdown, they exited the helicopter, and began to inspect the cause of the stuck anti-torque pedal. Both the CFI and student observed a broken metal structure adjacent to the restraining block that retains the anti-torque pedals. The CFI reported that it appeared to be the actual metal structure that the entire pedal assembly bolts to. The helicopter inspection revealed that the right-hand support bracket (part number A359-2) of the tail rotor control system had failed. The operator reported that the airframe had a total time of 13,000 hours. The helicopter manufacturer reported that they had been aware of other failed support brackets on helicopters with over 7,500 hours in service. As a result, the manufacturer increased the thickness of the support bracket material, and changed their overhaul procedures requiring replacement of the A359-1 and -2 support brackets at overhaul for all R22 and R44 models. The manufacturer also issued service bulletin (SB) SB-97 for the R22 and SB-63 for the R44, which require the addition of a safety tab on the older thinner support brackets.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.