Robinson R22 N306RL

Summary

On 15 November 2016 at about 20:00 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N306RL was involved in an accident near West Chester, Pennsylvania, 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

15 November 2016 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Brandywine Airport (OQN)

Coordinates

39.9900, -75.5819

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N306RL

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1998

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Chester → West Chester

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA046

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's decision to continue the practice autorotation in known gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing and roll over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating straight-in autorotations to a power recovery over the runway. He stated that the wind during the flight was generally from the north, but shearing horizontally to the northeast/northwest. He began to flare the helicopter about 40 ft above the ground. About 20 ft above the ground, a large wind gust with a horizontal wind shear resulted in a drift to the right and loss of tail rotor effectiveness. He corrected the drift and heading with flight control inputs, returned to the runway area, and continued the flare. During the last portion of the flare, the helicopter encountered a vertical wind shear and climbed about 20 ft. At that point, "all wind stopped," and the helicopter descended. The instructor attempted a power recovery; however, the helicopter landed hard on the skids with some lateral motion. The helicopter bounced, the left skid broke, and the helicopter rolled and came to rest on its left side. The flight instructor did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the wreckage confirmed substantial damage to the airframe and main rotor blades; there was no evidence of a preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction. Additionally, the flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunction or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.