Pilot Debrief

Robinson R22 Beta II near Prescott, AZ — 2008-05-02

Final reportLAX08CA126
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Date
2008-05-02
Location
Prescott, AZ, USA
Aircraft
Robinson R22 Beta II
Registration
N331MD
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Hover

Probable cause

The instructor's inadequate supervision and delayed remedial action that resulted in ground contact and a rollover.

NTSB narrative

This was the certificated flight instructor's (CFI) first instructional flight with this new primary student. They did a preflight inspection of the helicopter together, and departed for the practice area. Once the student had a general understanding of the controls, they did an approach to a point on the ground that terminated in a hover. The CFI was letting the student manipulate the controls more and more during the hover. The CFI positioned the helicopter for a slight right quartering headwind to compensate for translating tendencies. During hover, the helicopter exhibited a pendulum oscillation that is common for new students learning to hover. During one of the right lateral oscillations, the helicopter unexpectedly lost altitude. The right skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter rolled onto its right side. Within seconds, it caught on fire. Both pilots exited immediately. The CFI stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
CFI could have maintained greater skid height during instruction to prevent loss of control.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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