Robinson R22 N337H

Summary

On 14 February 2018 at about 18:30 local time, a Robinson R22 registered N337H, operated by Holy City Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina, 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

14 February 2018 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

32.4914, -79.5444

Aircraft

Robinson R22

Registration

N337H

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1999

Engines

1

Operator

Holy City Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charleston → Charleston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18LA131

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s abrupt evasive maneuver to avoid a reported unmanned aerial system, which resulted in a loss of forward airspeed and settling with power and a subsequent collision with trees and terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight in the helicopter, the student pilot was on the controls. The flight instructor said the student had transitioned from a hover through effective transitional lift and established forward flight and then initiated a right turn. He added that, during the right turn, he and the student saw a small, white unmanned aerial system (UAS) about 10 ft in front of the helicopter at "eye level." The instructor took the flight controls and made a hard right and aft cyclic input. After the evasive maneuver, the helicopter had very little forward airspeed. The helicopter was about 40 ft above ground level as it began settling with power. The helicopter descended, and the tail rotor entered trees. The helicopter then developed a right spin, and the instructor rolled the throttle off to alleviate the spin and then increased the collective to try to cushion the landing. Subsequently, the helicopter impacted the ground and rolled over onto its right side. A UAS was not recovered. It is likely that the instructor's abrupt maneuver led to the loss of forward airspeed and the helicopter's subsequent descent into trees, which resulted in the right spin from which the instructor could not recover before impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.