Robinson R44 II N497SU

Summary

On 25 July 2022 at about 14:45 local time, a Robinson R44 II registered N497SU, operated by Southern Utah University, was involved in an accident near Cedar City, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 July 2022 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

37.7024, -113.3012

Aircraft

Robinson R44 II

Registration

N497SU

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Southern Utah University

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cedar City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA267

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain rotor rpm and airspeed and the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action to regain helicopter control during the straight-in 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

The helicopter flight instructor was performing straight-in autorotation with power recovery maneuvers with a student pilot. On the third autorotation, the flight instructor stated that the student started the maneuver at 700 ft above ground level (agl) with the main rotor rpm at 100%. During the glide, when the RPM decayed to 90% and the airspeed decreased to 60 knots, the instructor intervened, and he attempted to recover the lost RPM. About 100 ft agl, the instructor prepared for a roll-on landing. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, rolled over on it’s left side and sustained substantial damage when the main rotor blades severed the tailboom. The instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.