ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA near Long Beach, CA — 2014-06-20

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering for landing.

NTSB narrative

During a solo training flight, the student pilot was maneuvering the helicopter while attempting to land and overshot the landing pad. Before returning to the landing pad, the helicopter began to turn to the right and he applied corrective left pedal input, however the right turn continued and accelerated. The pilot believed either the tailrotor failed or there was a loss of tailrotor effectiveness and lowered the collective. The helicopter touched down still turning with a slight nose up pitch and subsequently rolled over onto the left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and main rotor drive system. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB coding

• Abrupt maneuver · Maneuvering-hover

Evidence available

• 3 docket documents

Docket documents3

• CFI-Witness Statementinterview
• FAA-Inspector Statementinterview
• FAA-Pilot Statement (Email)interview

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