Robinson R22 N209KR

Summary

On 3 May 2012 at about 03:00 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N209KR, operated by Hawaii Pacific Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 May 2012 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States

Coordinates

19.7853, -155.9322

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N209KR

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Hawaii Pacific Aviation Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kailua-Kona → Kailua-Kona

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA195

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power while maneuvering for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While the student pilot was maneuvering for a practice off-field landing, the flight instructor observed that it was starting to drizzle, so he instructed the student to apply carburetor heat, which he did. As the student was continuing to maneuver for the approach to landing, the instructor detected a loss of engine power. The flight instructor immediately took control of the helicopter, rolled the throttle off and on to recover the loss of rotor rpm, and subsequently instructed the student to try to restart the engine while he set up an emergency landing. The student attempted three engine restarts, each of which was unsuccessful. The flight instructor then performed an emergency autorotation to upsloping terrain, which resulted in a hard landing and substantial damage to the helicopter. The instructor stated that the engine was running at idle after the landing. A postaccident examination of the engine and a subsequent engine run revealed no operational difficulties that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.