Robinson R22 BETA II N588LE
18 February 2009 · Encinitas, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 18 February 2009 at about 16:05 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA II registered N588LE, operated by DDG Management, LLC., was involved in an accident near Encinitas, California, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 16:05
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Encinitas, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 33.0242, -117.2822
- Aircraft
- Robinson R22 BETA II
- Registration
- N588LE
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- DDG Management, LLC.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Carlsbad → Carlsbad
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR09CA118
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
A partial loss of engine power for an undetermined reason. Contributing to the accident was the soft terrain.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot, who also operated the flight school that owned the helicopter, reported that he was giving a prospective flight instructor a pre-employment check ride. The flight instructor entered a practice autorotation from approximately 700 to 800 feet mean sea level to the beach at the ocean shoreline with the plan to perform a power recovery. When the flight instructor attempted to increase power, the power recovered to only approximately 70 percent. The pilot took the flight controls and performed an emergency autorotation to the sandy beach. The helicopter's forward motion was between 3 to 5 knots when it touched down. The pilot said the helicopter stopped suddenly due to the wet sand, causing the aircraft to rock forward and back. The backward motion permitted a main rotor blade to slice through and separate the tail boom. A post accident engine run was performed with no operational difficulties noted.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Robinson R22 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Feb 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | O'Donnell, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Jun 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | Morristown, Arizona, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 21 Jul 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | Jerome, Arizona, United States | Guidance Helicopters, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 29 Apr 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | Harlingen, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Apr 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | New Braunfels, Texas, United States | Spitzer Matthew | No injuries | - |
| 14 Oct 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2009 | Cessna 172P | Livermore, California, United States | Wollard Aviation Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 10 Dec 2009 | Piper PA-38-112 | Ojai, California, United States | Aviation Pacific Inc | Fatal | 2 |
| 28 Feb 2009 | Piper PA-28R-200 | Fallbrook, California, United States | M.Y. Air Corp | No injuries | - |
| 28 Feb 2009 | Mooney M20E | Rio Linda, California, United States | David Michaud | Fatal | 2 |
| 29 Nov 2009 | Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 | Torrance, California, United States | Smith Richard Charles | No injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 2009 | Piper PA-24-260 | Santa Barbara, California, United States | Kris S Michel | No injuries | - |