- Date
- May 12, 1983, 08:11 local (15:11 UTC)
- Place
- Torrance, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N83574Robinson R22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830512018939A
- Case key
- 23450
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 helicopter was on an FAA certification test flt with a part-time company employee in the left seat as pilot- in-command (PIC). An FAA test plt was in the right seat. The purpose of the flt was to establish new data for the helicopter's height-velocity (hv) curve. The PIC stated that all points along the curve had been successfully demonstrated on an earlier date. After a number of autorotations, the PIC successfully demonstrated a specific point at 100 ft & 48 KTS. The FAA plt then took the controls & attempted to duplicate the point in questions. The flare for the landing did not arrest the descent. Subsequently, the helicopter landed hard & the main rotor served the tail boom. Both plts admitted that they did not clearly define their individual responsibilities prior to the flt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83574
- Reported as
- Robinson R22
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 301
- Airframe hours
- 66
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 124 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robinson Helicopter Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 4, 1983 · 18 hours before
- Airport
- TOA · Torrance Muni, runway 11R, 3,000 × 75 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
- 36
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,567 total · 1,100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 2
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 N83574 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.