- Date
- March 27, 2000, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Keene, NH
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2260WRobinson R-22B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000327043259A
- Case key
- 51272
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 CFI's failure to perform remedial action in a timely manner which resulted in a hard landing during the practice autorotation. A factor in this accident was the CFI's lack of total experience as a flight instructor.
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 CFI was providing flight instruction to the commercial pilot, who was training for a CFI rating. While practicing an auto-rotation, the commercial pilot landed hard. The helicopter's main rotor severed the tail boom, and the helicopter rolled onto its left side. The CFI stated he failed to react soon enough to prevent the accident. The CFI reported 1,180 hours of total flight experience, of which 497 hours were in rotorcraft, with 279 hours in the make and model of the accident helicopter. Additionally, the CFI reported 40 hours of flight time as a flight instructor.
Factual narrative
On March 27, 2000, about 1400 Eastern Standard Time, a Robinson R-22B, a helicopter, N2260W, was substantially damaged while landing at the Dillant-Hopkins Airport, Keene, New Hampshire. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and commercial pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The CFI stated he was providing flight instruction to the commercial pilot, who was training for a CFI rating. According to the CFI, the commercial pilot was practicing an autorotation to Runway 20. The CFI further stated:
"As [the helicopter] approached approximately 50 feet above the runway, [the commercial pilot] started the cyclic flare, the helicopter nose pitched up and all seemed quite normal. As the flare was held, it appeared that we were starting to fall through the bottom. I failed to react soon enough to this situation and the helicopter contacted the ground landing on the aft portion of the skids...."
The helicopter's main rotor severed the tail boom, and the helicopter rolled onto its left side.
The pilots did not report any mechanical problems with the helicopter.
The CFI reported 1,180 hours of total flight experience, of which 497 hours were in rotorcraft, with 279 hours in the make and model of the accident helicopter. Additionally, the CFI reported 40 hours of flight time as a flight instructor.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2260W
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0501
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Green River Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- EEN
- Airport
- EEN · Dillant-Hopkins Airport, runway 20, 6,201 × 100 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
- 50
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,180 total · 279 in this make and model · 1,128 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EEN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.