Robinson R22 MARINER N8316D

Summary

On 18 August 2013 at about 19:30 local time, a Robinson R22 MARINER registered N8316D, operated by Marinephoto Helicopter LLC, was involved in an accident near Lee's Summit, Missouri, 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

18 August 2013 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Lee's Summit Municipal (LXT)

Coordinates

38.9708, -94.3495

Aircraft

Robinson R22 MARINER

Registration

N8316D

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1994

Engines

1

Operator

Marinephoto Helicopter LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lee's Summit → Lee's Summit

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA575

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper flare while performing an autorotation and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action to correct the high sink rate, 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 was providing primary helicopter instruction to a fixed-wing pilot on how to conduct 180-degree autorotations. The instructor said the pilot entered the flare lower to the ground than usual and began to descend. By the time the instructor noticed the high descent rate, it was too late for him to recover and he was only able to apply full-up collective to cushion the impact. The helicopter landed hard spreading the skids. During the landing and the main rotor blades flexed downward and severed the tailboom.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.