Robinson R22 BETA II N4171J

Summary

On 26 September 2012 at about 02:00 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA II registered N4171J, operated by Alpine Air Alaska Inc, was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, 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

26 September 2012 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Merrill Field (PAMR)

Coordinates

61.2081, -149.8403

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA II

Registration

N4171J

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Alpine Air Alaska Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12CA111

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student pilot during a hovering autorotation, which resulted in a dynamic rollover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was providing primary helicopter flight instruction to a student pilot. The instructor reported that while practicing a series of hovering autorotations, he inadvertently allowed the student pilot to drift to the left during the descent. The instructor then took control of the helicopter, applied right cyclic, and raised the collective slightly to level the helicopter and arrest the descent, but the helicopter started to descend with the right skid low. The instructor then added left cyclic and raised the collective further in an attempt to cushion the landing. The helicopter then drifted to the right as the right skid subsequently struck the ground. After touchdown, the helicopter’s skids slid over the asphalt surface before the right skid “caught,” the helicopter rolled to the right, and the main rotor blades struck the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its right side, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor drive system. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. He also stated that the accident might have been avoided if he had taken corrective action sooner and with less input on the cyclic.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.