- Date
- March 16, 1990, 08:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Paso Robles, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8079QRobinson R22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900316004749A
- Case key
- 26756
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 dual student pilot failed to maintain proper rotor/engine power and to relinquish the throttle control when the CFI attempted to reduce the power.
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
While on the downwind leg the CFI observed that the engine and rotor RPM exceeded the normal operating parameters. The CFI attempted to roll-off the throttle, but was unable to do so because the dual student had gripped the throttle control. The CFI then forcefully rolled-off the throttle and then attempted to roll-on the throttle but this action caused the engine to sustain a total loss of power. The CFI immediately executed an autorotation, but the RPM was too slow to prevent a hard landing. The main rotor blade severed the tail boom assy on landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8079Q
- Reported as
- Robinson R22
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1324
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 124 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Kyodo Flight School Inc.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 749 total · 348 in this make and model · 438 as pilot in command · 157 in the last 90 days · 84 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PRB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.