- Date
- May 28, 1990, 17:00 local (May 29, 1990, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sacramento, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N649MBRobinson R-22B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900528017639A
- Case key
- 26825
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 instructor pilot's failure to follow the aircraft manufacturer's checklist by neglecting to apply full carburetor heat at low power settings.
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
During an instructional flight the instructor and the student were making autorotations and terminating the descent with a power recovery. They did not apply full carburetor heat as prescribed by the aircraft manufacturer. Upon applying recovery power the powerplant failed to respond. The aircraft continued its descent and impacted the terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N649MB
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0649
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Sacramento Executive Hel. Inc.
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- SAC · Sacramento, CA
- Destination
- SAC
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 841 total · 841 in this make and model · 770 as pilot in command · 284 in the last 90 days · 103 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Observed at
- SAC, 10 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.
Other investigations on N649MB · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.