Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Reno, Nevada
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N47WH
Accident Number: WPR18LA041
Date & Time: 11/30/2017, 1540 PST
Registration: N47WH
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R22
Injuries: 2 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
On November 30, 2017, at 1540 Pacific standard time, a Robinson Helicopter Company R22, N47WH, landed hard and came to rest on its side at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport (TRK), Truckee, California. The helicopter was operated by the owner under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight instructor and commercial helicopter-rated pilot/owner, received serious injuries. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area training flight and no flight plan had been filed.
Witnesses at the airport had watched the helicopter practicing pattern work east of runway 29. They saw the helicopter turn onto its base leg at a normal altitude and then enter a rapid descent toward the runway. The witnesses observed the helicopter flare about 30 yards from the runway and impact the ground, tail rotor first, followed by the main body of the helicopter. The main rotor blades sheared the tail boom and the helicopter came to rest on its side. One of the witnesses is a airplane flight instructor, but thought the helicopter was possibly executing an autorotation.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Manufacturer: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY
Registration: N47WH
Model/Series: R22 MARINER
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built:
Operator: TUMBLEWEED LEASING CO INC
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site:
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation:
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
Temperature/Dew Point:
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction:
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility:
Altimeter Setting:
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Truckee, CA
Destination: Truckee, CA
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 39.320000, -120.139444 (est)
The Truckee Airport District says the crash happened at the east end of the airport around 3:40 p.m. Thursday, November 30, 2017.
Two commercially-rated pilots onboard were taken by medical helicopter to Reno for treatment. Their status has not been released.
The helicopter is a Robinson R22 Beta and is owned by Tumbleweed Leasing Co. of Salt Lake City.
The Truckee Airport District says it appears the two pilots were flight training at the time of the crash. The cause is still unknown.
Story and photo gallery: http://www.kolotv.com
NTSB Identification: WPR12CA307
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 16, 2012 in Bountiful, UT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/04/2012
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R22, registration: N47WH
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
While performing a simulated power-off autorotation with a power recovery, the certified flight instructor (CFI) and student noted that the main rotor rpm was decaying. About 150 to 200 feet above ground level (agl), the instructor took the flight controls, executed a flare about 50 feet agl, and realized that the helicopter was going to settle. The instructor then attempted a run-on landing, but the helicopter landed hard, spreading the skid landing gear and damaging the rotors, frame, engine and transmission. The helicopter then slid about 75 feet down the runway, departed the runway surface, and rolled four times before coming to rest on its left side. The CFI stated that there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter prior to the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The student’s failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.
While performing simulated power-off autorotations with a power recovery, the certified flight instructor (CFI) and student noted that the main rotor rpm was decaying. About 150 to 200 feet above ground level (agl), the CFI took the flight controls and executed a flare about 50 feet agl, and realized the helicopter was going to settle. The CFI then attempted a run on landing, but the helicopter landed hard, spreading the skid landing gear. The helicopter then slid about 75 feet down the runway, departed the runway surface, and rolled four times before coming to rest on its left side. The CFI stated that there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter.
Police
and fire fighters respond to a helicopter crash at Skypark Airport in
Woods Cross Monday, July 16, 2012. Both occupants walked away from the
accident.
WOODS
CROSS, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Two pilots are alive after the helicopter
they were flying in crashed during a training exercise on Monday.
The pilots were flying a Robinson R22. It crashed at Skypark Airport in Woods Cross around noon.
Bob Despain, who works as an aircraft engine shop manager for Precision Airpower is repsonsible for helping to pull the pilots to safety. He says he was working in his hangar when he heard the helicopter flying really low. "We were standing outside and we had to stop talking when the helicopter came over because it was so noisy."
According to Despain, the pilots were attempting to perform an autorotation - a recovery maneuver that all helicopter pilots are trained in. "It just appeared they didn't recover soon enough from the autorotation and hit the taxiway out here," says Despain.
After hitting the runway, the helicopter bounced and rolled four times - finally skidding almost 90 feet to a patch of grass just off of the runway.
Immediately Despain and his co-workers rushed to the helicopter wreckage after it hit the ground. They didn't expect to find any survivors . "It was scary. We didn't expect to see anybody move in the helicopter after that, it hit so hard."
First, Despain says they checked for fuel on the ground and to make sure the gas was shut off. Within a matter of seconds, they noticed someone moving inside the helicopter. "I didn't see any movement until I got from the asphalt to the grass and then I could see the instructor starting to move," says Despain.
Despain unstrapped the co-pilot's seatbelt and pulled him away from the helicopter. He was relieved to see that both pilots only had a couple of minor bruises. "They were walking under their own power, but they were quite shaken up and dizzy."
Upper Limit Aviation is the name of the company that operates the helicopter. They declined to go on camera, but they tell ABC 4 News that both pilots are trained and licensed, but simply going through recurrent training. Despain says one of the pilots was in his 70's.
Names of the pilots have not been released and the FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.
Bob Despain, who works as an aircraft engine shop manager for Precision Airpower is repsonsible for helping to pull the pilots to safety. He says he was working in his hangar when he heard the helicopter flying really low. "We were standing outside and we had to stop talking when the helicopter came over because it was so noisy."
According to Despain, the pilots were attempting to perform an autorotation - a recovery maneuver that all helicopter pilots are trained in. "It just appeared they didn't recover soon enough from the autorotation and hit the taxiway out here," says Despain.
After hitting the runway, the helicopter bounced and rolled four times - finally skidding almost 90 feet to a patch of grass just off of the runway.
Immediately Despain and his co-workers rushed to the helicopter wreckage after it hit the ground. They didn't expect to find any survivors . "It was scary. We didn't expect to see anybody move in the helicopter after that, it hit so hard."
First, Despain says they checked for fuel on the ground and to make sure the gas was shut off. Within a matter of seconds, they noticed someone moving inside the helicopter. "I didn't see any movement until I got from the asphalt to the grass and then I could see the instructor starting to move," says Despain.
Despain unstrapped the co-pilot's seatbelt and pulled him away from the helicopter. He was relieved to see that both pilots only had a couple of minor bruises. "They were walking under their own power, but they were quite shaken up and dizzy."
Upper Limit Aviation is the name of the company that operates the helicopter. They declined to go on camera, but they tell ABC 4 News that both pilots are trained and licensed, but simply going through recurrent training. Despain says one of the pilots was in his 70's.
Names of the pilots have not been released and the FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.
Photo Gallery: http://www.deseretnews.com
