Robinson R44 N4427H

Summary

On 9 December 2015 at about 13:40 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N4427H was involved in an accident near West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. One person was 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

9 December 2015 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

West Palm Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

North Palm Beach County Genera (F45)

Coordinates

26.8458, -80.2225

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N4427H

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2000

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Palm Beach → West Palm Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA075

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing, which resulted in a horizontal rotation of the helicopter, and abnormal runway contact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo student helicopter pilot reported that he conducted eight traffic pattern flights to a full stop on the runway. On his ninth approach, he was at the bottom of the landing transitioning to a hover, and he increased power while simultaneously applying left pedal.  He reported that as he entered the hover his airspeed was "close to 5 knots or less" and his altitude was "approximately 5 to 10 feet above ground level," the helicopter began to rapidly yaw to the right, he applied full left pedal, and the helicopter rotated "approximately 450 to 460 degrees." The student pilot reported that the helicopter began to "wobble," he lowered the collective to land, the helicopter bounced once, and then skidded to a stop. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The student pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot reported that the wind was 060 degrees at 3 knots at the accident airport, approximately one hour prior to the accident time. The closest weather reporting station to the accident airport is 12 nautical miles away, and reported that the wind was calm approximately 13 minutes after the accident time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.