Robinson R22 N830J

Summary

On 2 July 2018 at about 19:45 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N830J, operated by Veracity Aviation, LLC, was involved in an accident near Georgetown, Texas, 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 July 2018 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Georgetown, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Georgetown Muni (GTU)

Coordinates

30.6794, -97.6783

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N830J

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Veracity Aviation, LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Georgetown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA251

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, which resulted in an impact with terrain during the subsequent forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and commercial pilot were about to make the base leg turn for a local instructional flight when the low rotor rpm horn activated. The flight instructor got on the flight controls with the pilot, immediately reduced the collective, and applied throttle. The flight instructor heard the low rotor rpm horn stop and observed the low rotor rpm light extinguish; he visually confirmed the engine and rotor rpm were about 97%. The flight instructor began the base leg turn and heard the low rotor rpm horn again. After noticing that the engine and rotor rpm were decaying, the flight instructor felt that the engine was not capable of maintaining the rotor rpm within safe operating limits and entered an autorotation. The helicopter touched down with a small amount of forward airspeed in a yard at a private residence, which resulted in substantial damage to the tailboom and the vertical stabilizer. A postaccident examination of the engine found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive for the formation of carburetor icing at glide and cruise power, the helicopter was equipped with a carburetor heat assist device. The helicopter had an adequate amount of fuel on board at the time of the accident. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.