Pilot Debrief

ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 near West Palm Beach, FL — 2015-12-09

Final reportGAA16CA075
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Date
2015-12-09
Location
West Palm Beach, FL, USA
Airport
F45
Aircraft
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44
Registration
N4427H
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

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.

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.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the landing when experiencing yaw during hover transition.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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