Robinson R22B N8340D
30 September 1998 · Salinas, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 30 September 1998 at about 18:30 local time, a Robinson R22B registered N8340D was involved in an accident near Salinas, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Salinas, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 36.7590, -121.6504
- Aircraft
- Robinson R22B
- Registration
- N8340D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX98LA311
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The failure of the student pilot to maintain control of the aircraft while practicing autorotations.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The chief pilot of the flight school reported that the student helicopter pilot was briefed for his first nonsupervised solo flight. The pilot was instructed to practice traffic patterns and to fly normal approaches and takeoffs, with no emergency maneuvers. The student pilot reported that he practiced traffic patterns, then decided to practice autorotations. He entered the autorotation from approximately 800 feet agl and 70 knots of airspeed. About 200 to 300 feet agl, he initiated a go-around to abort the autorotation. He raised the collective but didn't get a response. He reported that at that point he was 'not sure what was going wrong but felt [he] was losing control and going down very fast.' Once he realized he was about to hit the ground, he raised the collective and applied full aft cyclic. The helicopter impacted the ground and rolled over. The chief pilot reported that when the pilot called him for help after the accident, the pilot stated, 'I did what you told me not to do,' referring to the autorotations. The pilot had been given a solo endorsement on September 14, 1998.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Robinson R22B accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Aug 1998 | Robinson R22B | Ramona, California, United States | Civic Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 9 Mar 1998 | Robinson R22B | Amport, United Kingdom | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 May 1998 | Robinson R22B | San Jose, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 May 1998 | Robinson R22B | San Luis Obispo, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Sep 1998 | Robinson R22B | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Pcia BS AS Police | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Aug 1999 | Robinson R22B | Cornakelly, Ireland | Eirecopter Helicopters | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1998 | Cessna 152 | Avalon, California, United States | Orange County Flight Center | Fatal | 1 |
| 5 Oct 1998 | Grumman TS-2A | Banning, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Aug 1998 | North American NAVION | Salinas, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 21 Aug 1998 | Bell 206B | Salinas, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Aug 1998 | Aerospatiale SA316B | Porterville, California, United States | U.s. Dept. of the Interior | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 1998 | Cessna 150K | Yorba Linda, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |