- Date
- June 18, 2007, 13:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Park City, UT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N712URobinson R22 Beta II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 66328
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's failure to maintain rotor RPM during hover taxi. A contributing factor was the high density altitude weather condition.
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 flight instructor said that he was on a cross-country training flight with a student. He said he was going to demonstrate an emergency autorotation to an open plateau with an elevation of approximately 7,000 feet. The flight instructor said the autorotation went well. But when he completed a right pedal turn to taxi back and applied left pedal to stop the yaw, the low rotor RPM horn sounded. He lowered the collective and rolled on the throttle as the helicopter settled to the ground. The left skid impacted first, bending the left aft skid support tube, which transmitted to the fuselage structure bending and deforming it.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor said that he was on a cross-country training flight with a student. He said he was going to demonstrate an emergency autorotation to an open plateau with an elevation of approximately 7,000 feet. The flight instructor said the autorotation went well. But when he completed a right pedal turn to taxi back and applied left pedal to stop the yaw, the low rotor RPM horn sounded. He lowered the collective and rolled on the throttle as the helicopter settled to the ground. The left skid impacted first, bending the left aft skid support tube, which transmitted to the fuselage structure bending and deforming it.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N712U
- Reported as
- Robinson R22 Beta II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3676
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-J2A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Upper Limit Aviation
- Registered owner
- Tumbleweed Leasing Co. Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Destination
- PRIV · Park City, UT
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
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 500 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- PVU
Other investigations on N712U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.