- Date
- July 2, 2003, 15:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- West Liberty, OH
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7001ZRobinson R-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FSDO-07
- FAA report
- 20030702019969A
- Case key
- 57379
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 student pilots failure to maintain directional control while hovering, and the CFI's delayed remedial action.
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 conducting hovering maneuvers, the certified flight instructor (CFI) instructed the student pilot to bring the helicopter to a 3-foot hover and perform a 180 degree turn. As the student began to turn the helicopter, the left skid came in contact with the ground and the helicopter began to roll. The student pilot over corrected for the sudden change in attitude, and the main rotor blades struck the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its left side.
Factual narrative
On July 2, 2003, at 1545 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R-22, N7001Z, was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground while conducting a hovering takeoff at a private helipad in West Liberty, Ohio. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) received serious injuries, and the student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local instructional flight. No flight plan was filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The CFI stated that he and his student were practicing hover maneuvers at a private helipad. The CFI instructed the student pilot to bring the helicopter to a 3-foot hover and perform a 180 degree turn. As the student pilot turned the helicopter, the left skid came in contact with the ground and the helicopter began to roll. The student pilot over corrected for the sudden change in attitude, and the main rotor blades struck the ground. The rotor blades abruptly stopped and the helicopter came to rest on its left side.
The CFI and student pilot added that they did not experience any mechanical malfunctions with the airframe or engine prior to the accident.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed damage to the main rotor blades, the tail rotor blades, and the fuselage.
The CFI reported 5,375 hours of total flight experience in rotorcraft, which include 4,300 hours in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. The student pilot reported 4 hours of total flight experience in the same make and model of the accident helicopter.
A weather observation taken at the Dayton International Airport, located about 30 miles southwest of the private helipad, about the time of the accident, recorded the winds from 100 degrees at 7 knots, sky conditions clear, visibility 9 statute miles, temperature 78 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point temperature 68 degrees Fahrenheit, altimeter setting of 30.08 inches of Hg, and a density altitude of 993 feet msl.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7001Z
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2804
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-J2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ohio Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 2003 · 62 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · West Liberty, OH
- Destination
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · None
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 10, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,464 total · 4,300 in this make and model · 14,002 as pilot in command · 161 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Right
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 52 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.