Brantly B-2B N2274U

Summary

On 20 May 2005 at about 20:00 local time, a Brantly B-2B registered N2274U, operated by Doug Geesey, was involved in an accident near Lakeview, Michigan, 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

20 May 2005 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakeview, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

43.4522, -85.2647

Aircraft

Brantly B-2B

Registration

N2274U

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Doug Geesey

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeview → Lakeview

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA120

Nobody was injured.

The dual student failed to maintain adequate rotor rpm during the practice autorotation and the instructor's delay in attempting remedial action. A factor associated with the accident was the soft terrain that was encountered.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter rolled over during a practice autorotation. The purpose of the flight was for the dual student to practice autorotations in preparation for a rotorcraft rating. He stated the accident occurred during the third autorotation of the flight. The student reported that during the autorotation the airspeed decreased below 40 miles per hour and the rotor rpm decayed. He stated the CFI took control of the throttle, rolling it on and off about three times, but they were too slow and low. He stated the helicopter impacted the ground "hard." The student reported that he did not notice a mechanical failure/malfunction with the helicopter, reporting that they just got too slow and the rotor rpm decayed. He continued to report, "I learned later that when practicing autorotations, I should not roll the throttle to idle, because there is a governor that keeps it at about 2,000 rpm when the collective is lowered." He stated his CFI never said anything to him about not rolling the throttle to idle. The CFI stated the engine quit during the simulated engine failure. He stated they made a full touchdown autorotation into a soft field and the left skid dug into the terrain causing the helicopter roll over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.