- Date
- October 24, 2009, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Scranton, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N822URobinson Helicopter R22 Beta
- Defining event
- Taxi: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 3, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20091024050649A
- Case key
- 74979
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The helicopter pilot stated that he had just completed the first leg of a three-stop cross country flight. After landing, and hover-taxied toward the runway and performed a left pedal turn to observe the windsock. The pilot lost control of the helicopter, the tail rotor struck an embankment parallel to the runway, "which resulted in a 180-degree spin to the left and dynamic rollover." The helicopter came to rest on its left side, and incurred substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and rotor blades. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. He further stated that the accident could have been avoided by performance of the clearing turn farther from the embankment.
Factual narrative
The helicopter pilot stated that he had just completed the first leg of a three-stop cross country flight. After landing, he hover-taxied toward the runway and performed a left pedal turn to observe the windsock. The pilot lost control of the helicopter, the tail rotor struck an embankment parallel to the runway, "which resulted in a 180-degree spin to the left and dynamic rollover." The helicopter came to rest on its left side, and incurred substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and rotor blades. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. He further stated that the accident could have been avoided by performance of the clearing turn farther from the embankment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N822U
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0917
- Airframe hours
- 3,397
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 130 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- V T Whitlock Inc
- Registered owner
- V T Whitlock Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 20, 2009 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- 51J · Lake South, SC
- Destination
- SC60 · Scranton, SC
- Airport
- SC60 · Cockfield Aerodrome, runway 04, 2,800 × 66 ft, grass/turf
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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 17, 2009
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 267 total · 267 in this make and model · 218 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.75 inHg
- Observed at
- CKI, 14 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 889 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.