- Date
- July 25, 2022, 08:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Cedar City, UT · open terrain
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N497SURobinson Helicopter R44 II
- Defining event
- Autorotation: 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
- 20220725007889A
- Case key
- 105568
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 rotor rpm and airspeed and the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action to regain helicopter control during the straight-in autorotation which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 5
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 helicopter flight instructor was performing straight-in autorotation with power recovery maneuvers with a student pilot. On the third autorotation, the flight instructor stated that the student started the maneuver at 700 ft above ground level (agl) with the main rotor rpm at 100%. During the glide, when the RPM decayed to 90% and the airspeed decreased to 60 knots, the instructor intervened, and he attempted to recover the lost RPM. About 100 ft agl, the instructor prepared for a roll-on landing. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, rolled over on it’s left side and sustained substantial damage when the main rotor blades severed the tailboom. The instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N497SU
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 11441
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 5,286.9
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Southern Utah University
- Registered owner
- Southern Utah University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 28, 2022
- Departed
- KCDC · Cedar City, UT
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 28
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 21, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 376 total · 302 in this make and model · 296 as pilot in command · 93 in the last 90 days · 57 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 27 total · 27 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- KCDC, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KCDC 251453Z AUTO 23009KT 10SM CLR 24/14 A3020 RMK AO2 SLP137 T02390139 51013=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 11, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 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.