Robinson R22 MARINER N42WC

Summary

On 27 July 2022 at about 17:45 local time, a Robinson R22 MARINER registered N42WC was involved in an accident near Hollywood, Florida, 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

27 July 2022 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Hollywood, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

North Perry (HWO)

Coordinates

26.0012, -80.2407

Aircraft

Robinson R22 MARINER

Registration

N42WC

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1990

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA340

1 person had minor injuries.

Inadequate maintenance of the helicopter’s tail rotor blades, which resulted in a failure of the tail rotor drive system, and an inflight loss of yaw control from which the flight instructor was unable to recover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instructor reported hearing a popping and banging sound while hover-taxiing during an instructional flight followed by an uncommanded right yaw. The instructor attempted to regain control, but the helicopter collided with the ground and rolled over onto its right side. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the tail rotor gearbox had fractured and that the tail rotor assembly had separated from the helicopter. Additional examination of the tail rotor blades, which had remained attached to the tail rotor drive shaft and gearbox, revealed corrosion and interior delamination of the blades. There was also erosion present on the blade leading edges, which likely provided a path for moisture to ingress, thereby resulting in the observed corrosion as well the failure of the bonding adhesive within the blade. It is likely that this condition resulted in an imbalance of the blades that imparted a vibratory loading onto the tail rotor gearbox that ultimately resulted in its failure during the accident flight. Review of partial maintenance records provided by the operator revealed that the tail rotor blades installed on the accident helicopter were not the blades that were noted in the maintenance logbooks, and the service history of the installed blades could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.