Robinson R22 BETA N10786

Summary

On 10 July 2011 at about 13:10 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N10786, operated by Ocean Helicopters Inc, was involved in an accident near West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one 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

10 July 2011 at 13:10

Classification

Accident

Location

West Palm Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Palm Beach International (PBI)

Coordinates

26.6831, -80.0956

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N10786

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Ocean Helicopters Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Palm Beach → West Palm Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11LA392

1 person had minor injuries.

Separation of the auxiliary fuel tank cap, which entered the tail rotor system. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a fuel tank cap restraint.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During initial climb, about 200 feet above the ground, the helicopter's auxiliary fuel tank cap separated and entered the tail rotor system. The tail rotor became unbalanced and partially separated. The pilot subsequently entered an autorotation as the horizontal and vertical stabilizers also separated, and the helicopter landed hard. The auxiliary fuel tank cap was not serviced prior to the accident flight and the pilot reported that he checked the security of the auxiliary and main fuel tank caps during preflight inspection. The separated fuel cap was recovered and did not contain a restraining chain and gasket. The main fuel tank cap remained secured throughout the accident sequence and examination of that cap revealed that it did contain a gasket but not a chain. The helicopter manufacturer ceased installing restraining chains about 18 years prior to the accident; however, the accident helicopter was produced about 10 months before that and should have left the factory with fuel tank cap restraining chains. Review of the helicopter's maintenance records did not reveal any instance of the fuel cap restraining chains being removed in the field. Additionally, the investigation could not determine if the auxiliary fuel tank cap gasket was absent prior to the accident flight or separated during impact with the tail rotor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.