- Date
- November 29, 1985, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Manassas, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Other
- Aircraft
- N8499BRobinson R-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 11238
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
A simulated straight in autorotation to runway 34L was entered from final approach by lowering the collective, and a pwrrecovery was planned at the bottom of the autorotation. At about 150 feet AGL, the throttle was rolled in to match the engine and rotor needles, but the engine did not respond. The autorotation was continued to the ground, and the helicopter impacted the terrain about 100 feet from the rwy 34L threshold, bounced a few feet in the air, rotated approximately 80-90 degrees to the left, and struck the ground again, coming to rest with an approximate 240 degree heading. The tail boom was severed and the skids were spread.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8499B
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0058
- Airframe hours
- 1,278
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 124 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Metropolitan Helicopters
- Registered owner
- George Smith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 26, 1985 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- W10 · Manasas Municipal Airport, runway 34, 3,700 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 35
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,893 total · 32 in this make and model · 1,613 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,900 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IAD, 14 nm away