# NTSB ATL97LA036: Robinson R22, N8319T, Wiggins, MS, January 31, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 31, 1997, 11:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Wiggins, MS - Coordinates: 30.860324, -89.129386 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.8603&lon=-89.1294&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 15, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 3818 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL97LA036 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3818/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA036 ## Probable cause the student pilot misjudged rotor blade clearance from a utility pole, which resulted in a collision. The proximity of the pole was a related factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, hover - object - pole (contributing factor) - clearance - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The student pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight, and had completed two legs of the flight before landing at Wiggins. According to the operator, the student was hovering to a parking ramp to refuel, when the main rotor blades struck a utility pole. The operator said that the student pilot saw the utility pole, but misjudged the rotor blade clearance. No mechanical problems with the helicopter were reported by the student. ## Factual narrative On January 31, 1997 at 1130, central standard time, a Robinson R-22 helicopter, N8319T, collided with a utility pole while hovering to park, following a landing at the Dean Griffin Memorial Airport, in Wiggins, Mississippi. The solo cross country training flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The helicopter sustained substantial damage; the student pilot was not injured. The flight departed time from Picayune, Mississippi, at1050. According to the operator, the student pilot was conducting a solo cross country flight, and had completed two legs of the flight prior to landing at Wiggins. Reportedly, the student pilot was hovering to the parking ramp, to refuel, when both main rotor blades struck a utility pole. The operator also said that the student pilot saw the utility pole but misjudged the rotor blade clearance. No mechanical problems with the helicopter were reported by the student pilot. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8319T](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8319T-2021-03-11), registration cancelled 2021-03-11, S/N 2488, built 1994 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Robinson R22 - Registry model: [Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA](https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r22-beta) (registry code 7640110) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 2488 - Airframe hours: 2403 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-B2C 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Vortex Helicopters - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 29, 1997, 4 hours before - Departed: GPT, GULFPORT, MS - Destination: MS06, MS - Airport: MS06, Griffin Memorial, runway 17, 3,000 × ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 27; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: right; flight hours: 76 total, 76 in this make and model, 19 as pilot in command, 76 in the last 90 days, 22 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 6 knots - Visibility: 6 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: GPT, 45 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970131003579A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970131003579A), Jan 31, 1997: Robsin R22BETA, Wiggins, MS, Substantial damage. Solo cross country. Hit utility pole during hovering to park after landing misjudged rotor clearance. (-23) student was hover taxiing to parking and contacted… ## Other investigations on N8319T (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 WPR19CA052](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19CA052), Dec 28, 2018: Robinson R22 (N8319T), Hayward, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a bird during low-altitude maneuvering, which resulted in a hard landing. 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. --- 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.