# Accident 20000130000609A: Robsin R22BETA, Hana, HI, January 30, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 30, 2000, 08:30 local time - Place: Hana, HI - Airport: Hana Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 20.7694° N, 155.9906° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=20.7694&lon=-155.9906&mi=10 - Aircraft: N62DF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N62DF-2000-08-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA (registry code 7640110, https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r22-beta) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: ROBSIN R22BETA - Reported engine: LYC O320B2C - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Student - Pilot flight hours: 61 total, 61 in this make and model, 52 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA089) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000130000609A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) STUDENT PILOT WAS CONDUCTING A SUPERVISED SOLO CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM KAILUA KONA, HAWAII (KOA) TO UPOLU AIRPORT (UPP) TO HANA, MAUI (HNM). PILOT LANDED N62DF AT UPP, MET HIS INSTRUCTOR, COMPLETED A FINAL WEATHER CHECK BEFORE CROSSING THE CHANNEL BETWEEN UPP AND HNM. STUDENT PILOT AND THE INSTRUCTOR DETERMINED THE VISIBILITY WAS GOOD, THE ISLAND OF MAUI WAS VISIBLE, THE WINDS WERE LIGHT AND THAT THE FLIGHT COULD BE SAFELY CONDUCTED. STUDENT DEPARTED UPP AT APPROXIMATELY 0800 HST. STUDENT ARRIVED AT HNM, OVERFLEW THE RUNWAY, DETERMINED THE WIND WAS FROM THE NORTH WEST (NW). PILOT ENTERED DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 26, FLEW THROUGH THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE AND APPROACHED THE RUNWAY ON A NW HEADING. STUDENT STATED THAT AT AN ALTITUDE BETWEEN 50 TO 75 FEET THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN AN UNCOMMANDED RIGHT YAW. STUDENT STATED THAT APPLICATION OF LEFT PEDAL AND A REDUCTION OF COLLECTIVE DID NOT STOP THE RIGHT YAW. PILOT STATED HE DID NOT RECALL ANYTHING AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE GROUND. THE ONLY WITNESS TO THE ACCIDENT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ , STATED HE FIRST NOTED THE HELICOPTER AT ABOUT 100 TO 200 FEET. HE STATED THE HELICOPTER WAS SPINNING TO THE R IGHT WITH SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE PITCH ATTITUDE. HE STATED HE WAS UNABLE TO OBSERVE THE AIRCRAFT BELOW ABOUT 50 FEET. INVESTIGATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE THAT OCCURRED PRIOR TO GROUND CONTACT. FLIGHT SERVICE STATION (FFS) REPORTED WINDS AT 150 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS. METAR REPORT ISSUED AT 1900Z (0900 HST). METAR REPORT FOR THE PREVIOUS HOUR NOT AVAILABLE. PILOT INCURRED MINOR INJURIES WITH A LACERATION TO HIS HEAD AND SMALL CUTS ON HIS ARMS. (.4) ON JANUARY 30, 2000, ABOUT 0830 HOURS HAWAIIAN STANDARD TIME, A ROBINSON R22B BETA, N62DF, OPERATED BY MONA LOA HELICOPTERS, KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII, EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL ON APPROACH FOR LANDING. THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN HARD AT THE HANA AIRPORT, ON THE ISLAND OF MAUI. THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, AND THE STUDENT PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED DURING THE SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91, AND IT ORIGINATED FROM HAWI, HAWAII, ABOUT 0800. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT, AT THE TIME OF THE ACC IDENT, THE PILOT'S TOTAL FLYING EXPERIENCE AND PILOT-IN-COMMAND FLIGHT TIME WAS ABOUT 60.6 AND 5.2 HOURS, RESPECTIVELY. THE PILOT'S FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT HIS STUDENT WAS IN THE FINAL PREPARATION PROCESS OF APPLYING FOR A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE. IN THE PILOT'S WRITTEN STATEMENT, HE DID NOT REPORT EXPERIENCING ANY MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS DURING THE EN ROUTE PORTION OF THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT BETWEEN THE BIG ISLAND (HAWAII) AND THE ISLAND OF MAUI. HE INDICATED THAT AFTER ARRIVAL OVER THE HANA AIRPORT, HE ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN TO RUNWAY 26 AND NOTED THE EXISTENCE OF A SOUTHERLY WIND. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT WHEN HE WAS BETWEEN 50 AND 75 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, AT LESS THAN 30 KNOTS AIRSPEED, THE HELICOPTER SUDDENLY BEGAN SPINNING CLOCKWISE. THE SPINNING CONTINUED DESPITE HIS APPLICATION OF LEFT PEDAL DURING HIS ATTEMPT AT STOPPING THE ROTATION. THE ROTATION CONTINUED, AND HE THEN REDUCED THE COLLECTIVE TO ENTER AN AUTOROTATION; HOWEVER, DID NOT REDUCE THE THROTTLE. THIS ALSO HAD NO EFFECT AT REDUCING THE DIRECTION OF THE SPINNING. A MOMENT PRIOR TO IMPACTING THE GROUND, THE PILOT INCREASED THE COLLECTIVE TO FLARE, AND THE RATE OF SPINNING INCREASED AGAIN. THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTORS RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, EXAMINED THE HELICOPTER, AND INTERVIEWED THE PILOT. THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED TERRAIN ABOUT 137 FEET FROM THE RUNWAY. COMPONENTS SEPARATED FROM THE HELICOPTER AND WERE LOCATED WITHIN APPROXIMATELY A 50-FOOT RADIUS OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE. THE FAA NOTED THAT AS THE PILOT APPROACHED RUNWAY 26 HE WOULD LIKELY HAVE EXPERIENCED A RIGHT CROSSWIND AND/OR TAILWIND. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HIS GROUND SPEED SEEMED FAST. THE REPORTED WIND ABOUT 30 MINUTES AFTER THE ACCIDENT WAS FROM 150 DEGREES, AT 8 KNOTS, OR 260 DEGREES RELATIVE BEARING FROM THE NOSE OF THE HELICOPTER. AT NO TIME DURING THE FLIGHT DID THE PILOT REPORT HAVING FELT ANY UNUSUAL VIBRATION, OR HAVING HEARD ANY UNUSUAL ENGINE SOUND OR THE LOW ROTOR RPM WARNING HORN. THE FAA REPORTED OBSERVING NO EVIDENCE OF ANY PREEXISTING MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WITH THE HELICOPTER. THE FAA PUBLICATION, ROTORCRAFT FLYING HANDBOOK (FAA-H-8083-21), DESCRIBES A LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR EFFECTIVENESS (LTE) PHENOMENA CALLED TAIL ROTOR VORTEX RING STATE. WINDS COMING FROM AN AZIMUTH RANGE FROM 210 DEGREES TO 330 DEGREES RELATIVE TO THE HELICOPTER'S NOSE AT SPEEDS FROM 8 TO 12 KNOTS CAN INDUCE A TAIL ROTOR VORTEX RING STATE CONDITION. THE CONDITION RESULTS IN TAIL ROTOR THRUST VARIATIONS, WHICH CAN REQUIRE RAPID AND CONTINUOUS PEDAL MOVEMENTS TO MAINTAIN HEADING AND CAUSE UNANTICIPATED RIGHT YAW RATES TO DEVELOP. IF THE YAW RATE IS NOT CONTROLLED IMMEDIATELY, THE HELICOPTER CAN ROTATE INTO A WIND AZIMUTH REGION WHERE WEATHERCOCK INSTABILITY WILL ACCELERATE THE RIGHT YAW. THIS CONDITION WILL BE AGGRAVATED AT AIRSPEEDS BELOW 30 KNOTS WHEN THE LOSS OF TRANSLATIONAL LIFT RESULTS IN AN INCREASED POWER DEMAND (MORE TORQUE) AND A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN ANTITORQUE REQUIREMENT. ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY MANAGEMENT VERBALLY REPORTED TO THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT THE TAIL ROTOR IS DRIVEN BY A TAKEOFF FROM THE MAIN ROTOR TRANSMISSION, AND IF THE MAIN ROTOR RPM WERE ALLOWED TO DECREASE BELOW OPERATIONAL LIMITS, THE TAIL ROTOR'S THRUST CAPABILITY WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. THEREAFTER, IF A PILOT WERE TO RESPOND BY INCREASING THE THROTTLE, THE INCREASED TORQUE REACTION DURING APPLICATION OF THE THROTTLE MIGHT PRODUCE A CLOCKWISE HELICOPTER ROTATION. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX00LA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA089), Jan 30, 2000: Robinson R22B (N62DF), Hana, Maui, HI, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student's failure to maintain directional control after encountering a tail rotor vortex ring state induced right yaw. ## Other reports on N62DF (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19990622015879I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990622015879I), Jun 22, 1999: Robsin R22BETA (N62DF), Wahiawa, HI. Precautionary landing due to 2-WAY communication failure. Re: incident involving an Robinson R22B landing at Wheeler army airfield. On June 23, 1999 this… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.