Robinson R22 N7518G
4 February 2017 · Fallston, Maryland, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 4 February 2017 at about 19:30 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N7518G, operated by Middle River Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Fallston, Maryland, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 19:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Fallston, Maryland, United States
- Nearest airport
- Fallston (W42)
- Coordinates
- 39.5078, -76.4067
- Aircraft
- Robinson R22
- Registration
- N7518G
- Category
- Helicopter
- Year built
- 2006
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Middle River Aviation LLC
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Middle River → Fallston
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA17CA099
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to relinquish the flight controls to the flight instructor, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot, who held a commercial fixed-wing pilot certificate, was performing hovering flight during his first helicopter lesson when the helicopter "suddenly jerked backwards." The helicopter's tail rotor gearbox and a portion of the tail rotor departed the helicopter, and the flight instructor landed the helicopter upright with no injuries to the two occupants. According to the flight instructor, he monitored the cyclic, collective, and tail rotor controls while explaining hovering flight and surrendered each control to the student pilot one at a time until the student pilot was fully controlling the helicopter. As the helicopter transitioned backward and began a "spin to the left," he requested and took control of the helicopter, but the student pilot did not surrender the controls, and the flight instructor could not overpower the student pilot's inputs before the tail rotor collided with terrain. The flight instructor further stated that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Robinson R22 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Nov 2017 | Robinson R22 BETA | Electra, Texas, United States | Carmichael Helicopter Service LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 2 Aug 2017 | Robinson R22 BETA | Cloncurry, Australia | GARLAND, Rankin Lou | Fatal | 1 |
| 20 Sep 2017 | Robinson R22 | Long Beach, California, United States | Revolution Aviation | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 2017 | Robinson R22 | Clearwater, Florida, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 30 Jun 2017 | Robinson R22 | Kelso, Washington, United States | Hillsboro Aero Academy | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2017 | Robinson R22 | Santa Barbara, California, United States | Tumbleweed Leasing Co Inc | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 May 2017 | Autogyro CALIDUS | Stevensville, Maryland, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 Jun 2017 | Buckeye Powered Parachutes DREAM MACHINE 582 | Federalsburg, Maryland, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 Nov 2017 | Aero Commander 112 | Westminister, Maryland, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Nov 2017 | Cessna 172 | Bowie, Maryland, United States | Goddard Aircraft Club Inc | No injuries | - |
| 3 Dec 2017 | Cessna 180 | Frederick, Maryland, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Mar 2017 | Cessna 172 | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | Middle River Aviation LLC | No injuries | - |