- Date
- July 5, 1991, 16:39 local (23:39 UTC)
- Place
- Phoenix, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N23039Robinson R-22B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 2, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910705026099A
- Case key
- 27012
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
A divergence of the main rotor from its normal plane of rotation for an undetermined reason, which resulted in rotor contact to the cockpit.
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
Witnesses reported observing the R22 in cruise flight between 300 & 500 ft AGL when they heard a loud bang & observed pieces falling from the helicopter. The helicopter crashed into a residence & initiated a fire that gutted the interior of the residence & destroyed the helicopter wreckage. Pieces of the left skid, windscreen bubble & the left door were located 1400 ft from the main wreckage. Examination of the wreckage found no evidence of preimpact malfunction or mechanical failure. The commercial pilot, who had accumulated 500 hrs in the R22 and was cruising to work to perform his aerial traffic watch reporting duties, was fatally injured. Remnants of model rockets were located in a vacant lot near the accident site. The model rockets were chemically examined to determine if a smudge on the helicopter windscreen matched the red surface of the rockets. The smudge did not match the material of the rockets.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N23039
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1846
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 131 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Skyview Traffic Watch
- Registered owner
- Skyview Traffic Watch
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- SDL · Scottsdale, AZ
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 6,656 total · 500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Observed at
- SDL, 6 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.