Monday, February 06, 2017

Robinson R22 BETA, N7518G, Middle River Aviation LLC: Accident occurred February 05, 2017 at Fallston Airport (W42), Harford County, Maryland

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

NTSB Identification: GAA17CA137 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, February 05, 2017 in Fallston, MD
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/07/2017
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22, registration: N7518G
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.

The flight instructor in the skid-landing-gear-equipped helicopter reported that he was providing hovering instruction during the student’s first helicopter lesson. The student was manipulating all flight controls with the instructor’s “guided assistance.” The helicopter began drifting aft, and the instructor told the student to “ease up on the controls.” The helicopter entered an immediate spin to the left, and the student “froze up on the flight controls.” The instructor’s counter-control inputs to gain control of the helicopter were ineffective, and the instructor rolled off the throttle. The helicopter descended, and the left skid and empennage struck the ground hard and sustained substantial damage. 

The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The flight instructor’s inability to maintain helicopter control while hovering because the student pilot froze on the flight controls, which resulted in a hard landing.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office: Baltimore, Maryland

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Middle River Aviation LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N7518G

NTSB Identification: GAA17CA13
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, February 05, 2017 in Fallston, MD
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22, registration: N7518G
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.

The flight instructor in the skid landing gear equipped helicopter reported that he was providing hovering instruction during the student's first helicopter lesson. The student was manipulating all flight controls, with the instructor's "guided assistance". The helicopter began drifting aft and the instructor told the student to "ease up on the controls". The helicopter entered an immediate spin to the left and the student "froze up on the flight controls". The instructor's counter-control inputs to acquire control of the helicopter were ineffective and the instructor rolled off the throttle. The helicopter descended, the left skid and empennage struck the ground hard and sustained substantial damage.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

NTSB Identification: ERA17CA099
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, February 04, 2017 in Fallston, MD
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/10/2017
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22, registration: N7518G
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.

The student pilot, who held a commercial fixed-wing pilot certificate, was performing hovering flight during his first helicopter lesson when the helicopter “suddenly jerked backwards.” The helicopter’s tail rotor gearbox and a portion of the tail rotor departed the helicopter, and the flight instructor landed the helicopter upright with no injuries to the two occupants.

According to the flight instructor, he monitored the cyclic, collective, and tail rotor controls while explaining hovering flight and surrendered each control to the student pilot one at a time until the student pilot was fully controlling the helicopter. As the helicopter transitioned backward and began a “spin to the left,” he requested and took control of the helicopter, but the student pilot did not surrender the controls, and the flight instructor could not overpower the student pilot’s inputs before the tail rotor collided with terrain. The flight instructor further stated that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The student pilot's failure to relinquish the flight controls to the flight instructor, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

Aviation Accident Factual Report / National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf 

NTSB Identification: ERA17CA099
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, February 04, 2017 in Fallston, MD
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22, registration: N7518G
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.

The student pilot, who held a commercial fixed-wing pilot certificate, was performing hovering flight during his first helicopter lesson when the helicopter "suddenly jerked backwards." The helicopter's tail rotor gearbox and a portion of the tail rotor departed the helicopter, and the flight instructor landed the helicopter upright with no injuries to the two occupants.

According to the flight instructor, he monitored the cyclic, collective, and tail rotor controls while explaining hovering flight, and surrendered each control to the student pilot one at a time until the student pilot was fully controlling the helicopter. As the helicopter transitioned backwards, and began a "spin to the left," he requested and took control of the helicopter, but the student pilot did not surrender the controls, and the flight instructor could not overpower the student pilot's inputs before the tail rotor collided with terrain. The flight instructor further stated that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

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