Robinson R22 BETA N208WM

Summary

On 17 August 2012 at about 22:42 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N208WM, operated by Utah Helicopter, was involved in an accident near Spanish Fork, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

17 August 2012 at 22:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Spanish Fork, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Spanish Fork - Springville (U77)

Coordinates

40.1414, -111.6611

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N208WM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Utah Helicopter

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanish Fork → Spanish Fork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA362

1 person was seriously injured.

The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing and rollover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were on a local training flight to practice autorotations. The flight instructor reported that the student entered a 180-degree autorotation at an altitude of about 5,200 feet mean sea level at 65 knots. The student started the maneuver by initiating a descending "hard" right turn. Shortly after, the low rotor light illuminated, and the low rotor horn sounded. In response, the flight instructor assisted the student through the maneuver, and they added left cyclic and decreased the airspeed and sink rate. Although the rpm horn stopped, the helicopter's sink rate was excessive, so the flight instructor took control of the helicopter. He reported that the rotor seemed as if it was not responding to inputs and that the helicopter's sink rate was "pretty fast." The helicopter lost considerable altitude in the turn, and the flight instructor rolled on the throttle and flared in the short amount of distance between the helicopter and the ground. The helicopter subsequently touched down hard and rolled over. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.