- Date
- November 17, 1991, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ocala, FL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4072URobinson R22 Mariner
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911117052029A
- Case key
- 33032
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 pilot-in-command's improper use of collective control and throttle during recovery from an autorotation which resulted in loss of rotor RPM and a subsequent hard landing.
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
Pilot initiated practice autorotation. At 500 feet altitude recovery was attempted by increasing collective and increasing throttle. Low rotor speed warning was heard and engine did not accelerate. Pilot lowered collective and continued autorotation to the ground at which time a hard landing was made. Postcrash examination of the aircraft by FAA inspectors revealed no evidence of failure or malfunction of the aircraft engine. The engine was operated after the accident with no evidence of failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4072U
- Reported as
- Robinson R22 Mariner (R22 MARINE)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1788M
- Airframe hours
- 127
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 131 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Drax Corp.
- Registered owner
- Drax Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 1991 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- OCF · Ocala, FL
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 276 total · 127 in this make and model · 276 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OCF, 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.