- Date
- April 23, 2001, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fortuna, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N806EHRobinson R22 beta
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flt Standards Dist Office
- FAA report
- 20010423010979A
- Case key
- 52121
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's improper procedure during a practice emergency that exceeded the instructor's reaction capability.
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 was practicing hover autorotation maneuvers. Three hover autorotations had been conducted jointly, with both the student and the flight instructor on the flight controls. The fourth attempt was to be done with only the student holding the fllight controls. According to the instructor, when he reduced the throttle to initiate the practice hover autorotation, the student lowered the collective so abruptly that he could not prevent a hard landing. After landing, the helicopter rolled onto its side.
Factual narrative
On April 23, 2001, at 1600 hours Pacific daylight time, a Robinson R22 Beta, N806EH, rolled over while completing an autorotative landing in Fortuna, California. The helicopter sustained substantial damage; however, neither the certificated flight instructor nor his student were injured. Executive Helicopters, Inc., was operating the helicopter as an instructional flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The flight originated from the Sacramento Executive Airport about 1530. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan had been filed.
The helicopter departed for a local instructional flight at Franklin Field in Fortuna. According to the instructor, they were in the process of practicing a series of over autorotations. The first three were conducted jointly. On the fourth hover autorotation the student abruptly lowered the collective as the instructor reduced the throttle and the helicopter touched down hard. The helicopter then rolled onto its side. The instructor stated that the student pushed the collective so quickly he had insufficient time to react.
The pilot reported 580 hours of total flight time and 300 hours as an instructor. All flight time and instruction had been in the make and model.
Winds at Sacramento were reported as from 320 degrees at 4 knots with 10 miles of visibility.
In the operator's aircraft accident report, form 6120.1/2, he reported the total time on the airframe as 9,675 hours and it had been 93 hours since its last inspection. He also reported the helicopter damage. Both the main and tail rotor were damaged from the impact, and damage to the airframe, drive train, and tail boom was also evident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N806EH
- Reported as
- Robinson R22 beta
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1452
- Airframe hours
- 5,687
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Executive Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 18, 2001 · 38 hours before
- Departed
- SAC · Sacramento, CA
- Destination
- Q53 · Franklin Field, CA
- Airport
- Q53 · Franklin Field, runway 09, 3,100 × 60 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 2, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 580 total · 580 in this make and model · 533 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 85 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 20 total · 20 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- SAC, 26 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.