Robinson R22 BETA N4076H

Summary

On 19 June 2023 at about 18:07 local time, a Robinson R22 BETA registered N4076H, operated by Summerskyz Inc, was involved in an accident near Cedar Lake, Indiana, 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

19 June 2023 at 18:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar Lake, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

41.3648, -87.4408

Aircraft

Robinson R22 BETA

Registration

N4076H

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1991

Engines

1

Operator

Summerskyz Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA247

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the flight instructor to attain/maintain aircraft control while maneuvering, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and impact with the lake.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor stated that when they performed the vortex ring state emergency procedure, the pilot under instruction told him that the helicopter was not producing power. During the descent, the flight controls were then transferred to the flight instructor. The flight instructor stated that the helicopter was not producing power. The flight instructor said he then proceeded to turn northbound to avoid a boat and personnel and landed on a lake. A witness video showed the helicopter descend above the lake and stop the descent in about a 12-15 ft hover. It did a left hover turn for about 90°. The helicopter then stopped turning and appeared to hover taxi forward before it entered a descent. The helicopter skids entered the water and were submerged up to the bottom of the helicopter fuselage. While partially submerged, the helicopter began to rotate to the right and climb out to the bottom of the skids before it rolled left and descended into the water. The video showed that the helicopter was able to hover, perform a hover turn, and attain a partial climb out of the water, all of which demonstrated that the helicopter was not limited in engine performance due to the excess power available to perform these maneuvers. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal helicopter operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.