Robinson R44 II N808WH

Summary

On 17 June 2012 at about 17:45 local time, a Robinson R44 II registered N808WH, operated by SkyBlue Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. 3 people were 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

17 June 2012 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Scottsdale Airport (SDL)

Coordinates

33.6706, -111.6708

Aircraft

Robinson R44 II

Registration

N808WH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

SkyBlue Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Scottsdale → Scottsdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA267

1 person had minor injuries.

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a loss of helicopter control and subsequent hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during the power recovery portion of a practice autorotation, he rolled on the throttle to increase the engine rpm. However, the engine rpm did not increase, and the main rotor rpm started to decay. The flight instructor's attempts to regain the main rotor rpm were unsuccessful, and he performed an emergency autorotation to the ground. The helicopter impacted a soft landing surface and came to rest on its left side. The fuselage and the tailboom sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. During an engine test run, the engine ran smoothly at idle and 100 percent rpm. According to Federal Aviation Administration guidance, the power recovery portion of a practice autorotation should be achieved by properly coordinating the upward collective pitch control with an increase in the throttle. It is likely that the pilot did not increase the throttle in proportion to the increase in collective pitch, which resulted in the loss of rotor rpm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.