- Date
- August 27, 1988, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gaithersburg, MD
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8559ARobinson R22A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880827035579A
- Case key
- 11433
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
The flt was initiated with the student plt bringing the helicopter up to a hover with some forward speed. The student rapidly and forcefully applied aft cyclic. The CFI was unable to compensate in time, even though he was on the controls with the student. The student did not relinquish the controls. The main rotor contacted and severed the tail boom. Partial control was lost but the CFI was able to reduce the throttle and enter an autorotation from aprx 6 ft AGL. The helicopter came to rest on its skids. The student had only 5 hrs flt experience, all in the R22.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8559A
- Reported as
- Robinson R22A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0468
- Airframe hours
- 1,126
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 124 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Montgomery Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1988
- Departed
- GAI
- Airport
- GAI · Montgomery County
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
- 39
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,100 total · 250 in this make and model · 4,200 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 62 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DCA, 20 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.
Other investigations on N8559A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.