Robinson R22 N28VH

Summary

On 21 July 2017 at about 14:30 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N28VH, operated by Rocky Mountain Rotors LLC, was involved in an accident near Bozeman, Montana, 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

21 July 2017 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bozeman, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Bozeman Yellowstone Intl (BZN)

Coordinates

45.7775, -111.1519

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N28VH

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Rocky Mountain Rotors LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bozeman → Bozeman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA434

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s unstabilized autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the helicopter flight instructor, he was demonstrating simulated 180° right turn autorotations. He reported that, during the entry of the third autorotation, the helicopter attitude was excessively nose low and the descent rate was high. He initiated a power-on recovery; however, the flare was initiated too late. He applied forward cyclic to level the skids and increased collective to its mechanical limit, but the helicopter touched down hard, and one of the main rotor blades struck the tailboom. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The pilot reported in the National Transportation Safety Board's Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, "The event could have been avoided by recovering the autorotation sooner and doing a go-around." The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.