Robinson R22-BETA N554SA

Summary

On 2 October 2013 at about 22:15 local time, a Robinson R22-BETA registered N554SA, operated by Sun Aero Helicopters INC, was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois, 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

2 October 2013 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Lansing Muni (IGQ)

Coordinates

41.5350, -87.5294

Aircraft

Robinson R22-BETA

Registration

N554SA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1990

Engines

1

Operator

Sun Aero Helicopters INC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chicago → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14CA017

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to take remedial action in a timely manner.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot stated they had been practicing hovering for about 30 minutes, and were about two feet above the ground. He recalled that he was "controlling the cyclic and maybe the collective, but not the pedals." The flight instructor thought they were three to five feet above the ground. The helicopter experienced a pendular motion and began traveling backwards and to the right. The right skid made contact with the ground, which resulted in the tail impacting the ground and the helicopter rolling onto its side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.