- Date
- August 6, 1997, 12:20 local (16:20 UTC)
- Place
- Willimantic, CT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N717GTRobinson R22 Beta
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 9, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970806021269A
- Case key
- 28221
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 student pilot misunderstood the flight instructor's instructions and reduced the engine power to idle, and the Certificated Flight Instructor's delayed remedial action.
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 student pilot flew his first two flights with another instructor. After practicing various maneuvers and while hovering at about 10 feet AGL with a new instructor, the student pilot was asked to return to their home airport to practice auto rotations. The student pilot turned the throttle to idle and the helicopter impacted the ground before the instructor could recover. The student pilot stated that he mistakenly thought the instructor requested an auto rotation from their present location, as he had done on his previous flights. No mechanical problems were reported by the instructor or the student.
Factual narrative
On August 6, 1997, about 1220 eastern standard time, a Robinson R-22 Beta, N717GT, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Windham Airport, Willimantic, Connecticut. The certificated flight instructor and the pre-solo foreign student were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The flight originated from the Ellington Airport, Ellington, Connecticut, about 1138. The flight instructor stated that they flew to Windham Airport to practice approaches and hovering. Upon completion of their maneuvers and while hovering at 10 feet, the instructor asked the foreign student to return to Ellington Airport to practice auto rotations. According to the instructor, the student moved the throttle to idle and the helicopter impacted the ground before he could recover control of the helicopter.
The student pilot was a foreign national with limited ability to speak and understand English. His previous two flights were with another instructor, who had the student pilot practice hovering auto rotations. When interviewed after the accident, the student stated that he mistakenly thought the new instructor requested an auto rotation from their present location. The student adjusted the throttle and it slipped to the idle position.
Neither the instructor nor the student reported mechanical problems with the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N717GT
- Reported as
- Robinson R22 Beta
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1422
- Airframe hours
- 829
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Northeast Helicopter Inc.
- Registered owner
- Heli Corp Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 30, 1997 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- 7B9 · Ellington, CT
- Destination
- 7B9 · CT
- Airport
- IJD · Windham
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
- 46
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 363 total · 357 in this make and model · 301 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IJD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.