- Date
- September 30, 2021, 08:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Phoenix, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N74706Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210930016559A
- Case key
- 104030
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 pilot's failure to maintain helicopter control while making a clearing turn which resulted in a hard 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
The solo student pilot reported that, while making a clearing turn, the wind caught the tail and abruptly spun the helicopter. He applied corrective pedal inputs then raised the collective to avoid the ground and the helicopter began to rotate clockwise about the vertical axis and could not be corrected by application of left pedal. About 50 to 60 ft above the ground, he entered an autorotation where the helicopter landed hard and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74706
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 11065
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 3,444.7
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Universal Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Alba Leasing Services LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 21, 2021
- Departed
- SDL · Scottsdale, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KSDL
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B
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
- 41
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 58.2 total · 58 in this make and model · 8.7 as pilot in command · 58 in the last 90 days · 18.1 in the last 30 days · 0.6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KDVT, 5 nm away
- METAR
- KDVT 301553Z AUTO 07009KT 10SM CLR 25/12 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP125 T02500117
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.9 MB 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.