# Accident 20140604008779A: Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA, Prescott, AZ, June 4, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 4, 2014, 15:30 local time
- Place: Prescott, AZ
- Airport: Ernest A. Love Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: G30S
- Location: 34.6750° N, 112.4275° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.6750&lon=-112.4275&mi=10
- Aircraft: N223G (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,675 total, 1,260 in this make and model, 102 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR14CA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14CA227) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140604008779A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON 6/4/2014, AT 15:30 LOCAL TIME AN R-22 HELICOPTER DEPARTED PRC ON A TRAINING FLIGHT FOR A CFI STUDENT TRANSFERRING FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL.  THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT AT THE NEW SCHOOL WITH THE STUDENT ACTING IN THE ROLE OF CFI AND FLYING FROM THE LEFT SEAT.  FROM THE ACCOUNTS OF THE TWO PILOTS, THE HELICOPTER DEPARTED USING THE GUIDANCE WEST (FLIGHT SCHOOL) DEPARTURE OVER SOME HANGARS, AND AS PER SCHOOL POLICY CLIMBED TO 300 FEET AGL AND 60 KIAS, AND TURNED NORTH.  THE PILOTS REPORTED THAT THERE WAS ABOUT A 10 KT TAILWIND.   THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS ABOVE 8000 FEET AND THE HELICOPTER WAS BEING OPERATED WITHIN THE ?AVOID OPERATIONS? PORTION OF THE HIGHT ? VELOCITY DIAGRAM.

AFTER A MINUTE OR SO ON THE NORTHERLY HEADING THE STUDENT FLYING FROM THE RIGHT SEAT REACHED FOR THE TRIM KNOB BUT PULLED THE MIXTURE INSTEAD.  THE CFI INSTRUCTOR IN THE RIGHT SEAT YELLED ?NO,? PUSHED THE COLLECTIVE DOWN AND THEN PUSHED THE MIXTURE DOWN.  THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND THE CFI INSTRUCTOR IN THE RIGHT SEAT RAISED THE COLLECTIVE AND ROTOR RPM DROPPED.  THEN THE CFI INSTRUCTOR IN THE RIGHT SEAT LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE AND TRIED TO MANEUVER INTO THE WIND.  BEFORE A HEADING INTO THE WIND COULD BE OBTAINED THE INSTRUCTOR FLARED AND THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE GROUND NOSE HIGH WITH THE TAIL BOOM HITTING THE GROUND.  THE ROTOR BLADES DROOPED AND CUT THE TAILBOOM OFF.  NO ONE WAS INJURED.

## 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 WPR14CA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14CA227), Jun 4, 2014: Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta (N223G), Prescott, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The inadvertent activation of the engine's mixture control during cruise flight by the pilot undergoing instruction, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was…

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.