- Date
- June 20, 2014, 10:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Long Beach, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N681SHRobinson Helicopter R22 Beta
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Abrupt maneuver
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 24, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20140620010399A
- Case key
- 89498
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 aircraft control while maneuvering for landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During a solo training flight, the student pilot was maneuvering the helicopter while attempting to land and overshot the landing pad. Before returning to the landing pad, the helicopter began to turn to the right and he applied corrective left pedal input, however the right turn continued and accelerated. The pilot believed either the tailrotor failed or there was a loss of tailrotor effectiveness and lowered the collective. The helicopter touched down still turning with a slight nose up pitch and subsequently rolled over onto the left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and main rotor drive system. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
During a solo training flight, the student pilot was maneuvering the helicopter while attempting to land and overshot the landing pad. Before returning to the landing pad, the helicopter began to turn to the right and he applied corrective left pedal input, however the right turn continued and accelerated. The pilot believed either the tailrotor failed or there was a loss of tailrotor effectiveness and lowered the collective. The helicopter touched down still turning with a slight nose up pitch and subsequently rolled over onto the left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and main rotor drive system. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N681SH
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta (BETA)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3430
- Built
- 2003
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360 SERIES, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HHR · Hawthorne, CA
- Destination
- LGB · Long Beach, CA
- Airport
- LGB · Long Beach /Daugherty Field/
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
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 26.2 total · 26.2 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KLGB
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 12, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 104 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.