Robinson R22 MARINER N178EP

Summary

On 13 November 2024 at about 16:30 local time, a Robinson R22 MARINER registered N178EP was involved in an accident near Parrottsville, Tennessee, United States. One person was 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

13 November 2024 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Parrottsville, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

36.0316, -83.0239

Aircraft

Robinson R22 MARINER

Registration

N178EP

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1991

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bristol → Greenville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA046

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter during a precautionary, off-airport landing to sloping terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot of the helicopter stated she was flying on her first solo cross-county flight. She flew to the first destination airport, which was about 30 minutes away, and made three uneventful approaches to land before departing the airspace and fly to another airport and practice some more approaches. She stated that about 15 minutes out from the next airport, she was having problems getting the correct frequency dialed into the radio and the helicopter felt “light” on the controls. She further described that the engine was running normally and all engine controls were functioning as expected. She then decided to make a precautionary landing in a field. During landing, she was focused on the helicopter’s instruments, did not look outside at the ground, and did not notice the field was slopped. One of the helicopter’s skids contacted the ground with a sideways motion, and the helicopter began to spin. The tail rotor subsequently contacted the ground and the helicopter rolled over on its left side resulting in substantial damage to the tail rotor and tail boom. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.