Robinson R22 BETA N8354Z

Summary

On 25 March 1999 at about 23:30 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N8354Z was involved in an accident near Englewood, Colorado, 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

25 March 1999 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Englewood, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.5796, -104.8598

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N8354Z

Category

Helicopter

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

DEN99LA058

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor allowed the rotor rpm to decay during an 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 flight instructor and his student were practicing autorotations. The entry was made at 700 feet above the ground (agl), and the turn was completed at approximately 200 agl. As the helicopter rolled out of the turn, the collective was lowered 'but not enough,' and the rpm continued to decay. At the end of the flare, approximately 20-25 feet agl, a high sink rate began to build. The instructor took control and rolled the throttle to recover the rpm but did not have sufficient altitude or rpm. The helicopter impacted the ground hard in a level attitude. Upon impact, the skids buckled outward and the main rotor blades flexed downward, severing the tail boom.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.