- Date
- August 16, 1999, 16:37 local (20:37 UTC)
- Place
- Mansfield, MA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N20879Robinson R-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 22, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990816012449A
- Case key
- 47316
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
Was the student pilot's failure to maintain lateral control of the helicopter while bringing it to a hover. A factor in the accident was the student pilot's lack of total experience in helicopters.
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
With his instructor outside the helicopter watching, the student pilot attempted to bring the helicopter to a hover. With the left skid in the air and the entire right skid on the ground, the helicopter rolled over. No pre-impact failures or malfunctions were found. Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 90-87 (Helicopter Dynamic Rollover) states the following; 'During normal or slope takeoffs and landings with...one skid/wheel on the ground, the bank angle or side drift can place the helicopter in a situation where it is pivoting (rolling) about a skid/wheel which is still in contact with the ground....if a roll rate is permitted to develop, a critical bank angle...may be reached where roll cannot be corrected, even with full lateral cyclic.' The student pilot had logged a total of 27 hours of flight experience with all 27 hours in helicopters.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 1999, at 1637 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R-22, N20879, was substantially damaged when it rolled over and impacted terrain at Mansfield Municipal Airport, Mansfield, Massachusetts. The student pilot received minor injuries, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo flight. No flight plan was filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the student pilot's flight instructor who witnessed the accident, the student was attempting to bring the helicopter to a hover after executing a landing. With the left skid in the air and the entire right skid on the ground, the instructor watched the helicopter roll over. The student added that he felt the helicopter leaning to the right. "The next thing I knew it rolled over."
Neither the flight instructor nor student pilot reported any pre-impact failures. Also, they did not report any flight control problems with the helicopter the day of the accident. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that responded to the accident did not report identifying any pre-impact malfunctions or failures with the helicopter.
Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 90-87 (Helicopter Dynamic Rollover) states the following:
"Helicopter pilots in general are required to be skillful in operations on both improved or unimproved surfaces. During normal or slope takeoffs and landings with...one skid/wheel on the ground, the bank angle or side drift can place the helicopter in a situation where it is pivoting (rolling) about a skid/wheel which is still in contact with the ground. When this happens, lateral cyclic control response becomes more sluggish and less effective than for a free hovering helicopter. Consequently, if a roll rate is permitted to develop, a critical bank angle (the angle between the helicopter and the horizon) may be reached where roll cannot be corrected, even with full lateral cyclic."
According to the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, the student pilot had logged a total of 27 hours of flight experience with all 27 hours in helicopters.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20879
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1442
- Airframe hours
- 1,132
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Northern Lights Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Beverly Merta
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 9, 1999 · 31 hours before
- Departed
- 1B9
- Airport
- 1B9 · Mansfield Municipal
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
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 27 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Observed at
- OWD, 13 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.