30.3651° N, 91.0495° WPlaced by OpenAirDocs at BATON ROUGE (LA05), within about a mile.Open in the map
Date
August 13, 2014 · 15:45 local
Place
Baton Rouge, LA
Airport
Baton Rouge
Phase of flight
Hover/Holding
Operating rules
Pilot school (Part 141)
Operator
3G1S
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N627LE
Reported as
Robinson Helicopter R44 II
Reported engine
Lycoming IO-540 series
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
830 total720 in this make and model85 in the last 90 days
From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.
What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Lower bearing had seized resulting in an overload (rotational) separation of the bearing assembly from the fan shaft resulting in a separation of the fan.
Aircraft was in hover, pilot was making a right pedal turn into the wind when the lower bearing seized. Pilot auto rotated to the ground, no damage to the skids.
Instructor and student fine.
As the FAA filed it
LOWER BEARING HAD SEIZED RESULTING IN AN OVERLOAD (ROTATIONAL) SEPARATION OF THE BEARING ASSEMBLY FROM THE FAN SHAFT RESULTING IN A SEPARATION OF THE FAN.
AIRCRAFT WAS IN HOVER, PILOT WAS MAKING A RIGHT PEDAL TURN INTO THE WIND WHEN THE LOWER BEARING SEIZED. PILOT AUTO ROTATED TO THE GROUND, NO DAMAGE TO THE SKIDS.