Incident Robinson R-22 N784SH,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 167081
 
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Date:Thursday 19 June 2014
Time:10:30
Type:Silhouette image of generic R22 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Robinson R-22
Owner/operator:Helicopter Services and Technologies, LLC (HeliSat)
Registration: N784SH
MSN: 3622
Year of manufacture:2004
Total airframe hrs:111 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-360-J2A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:Greensfield Airport, Moscow Mills, Missouri -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Greensfield Airport, Moscow Mills, Missouri (FAA LID M71)
Destination airport:Greensfield Airport, Moscow Mills, Missouri (FAA LID M71)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
On June 19, 2014, at 10:30 CDT (Central Daylight Time), a Robinson Helicopter Company R-22 Beta, N784SH, impacted terrain during a practice auto-rotation at Greensfield Airport (M71), Moscow Mills, Missouri. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor and student pilot sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated by Helicopter Services and Technologies, LLC (DBA HeliSat) under 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was not operating on a flight plan and departed from the operator's facility in Moscow Mills, Missouri, about 09:30 CDT on a local flight

The flight instructor stated that training flight began about 0930 with normal takeoffs, landings, and autorotations at Greensfield. At approximately 10:30 CDT, the student pilot began to perform a 180-degree autorotation. While turning towards the runway during a 180-degree autorotation, with the RPM just above the green arc and with an airspeed of 65 knots, helicopter began to "fall" through about 100 feet above ground level. The instructor took the flight controls and tried to roll on the throttle and flare the helicopter before it touched down onto the ground.

Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration maintenance inspector revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The sprag clutch was removed and examined at Robinson Helicopter Company under the supervision of personnel from the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office and Manufacture Inspection District Office.

The report of the sprag clutch examination (A166-1 clutch shaft serial number 9795, A188-2 sprag assembly serial number 10453, and the A184-1 support bearing) stated, in part:

The sheave was rotated by hand in the direction of normal rotation, the clutch shaft moved with the sheave, as the sheave was rotated opposite the direction of normal rotation, the sheave freewheeled on the shaft. A slight roughness was felt when rotating the shaft.

Both yokes and support bearing were removed. The forward retainer plate was removed and the oil was drained from the assembly. The oil appeared black but still had a red tint to it. The oil did not smell burnt. Approximately 9 milliliters was recovered from the assembly (typical clutch assembly contains approximately 17 milliliters). The recovered oil was scanned with a magnet and a small, thin metallic chip was recovered.

The bearings were pressed out of the sheave and off of the shaft and the sprag assembly removed. Both bearings had rough spots when rotated by hand. Both bearings were flushed with solvent and afterward the bearings rotated smoothly. The flushing solvent from both bearings was scanned with a magnet and several very small, metallic slivers were recovered. The bearing contact surface of the inner and outer races were visually examined, no discoloration or damage was noted.

The inner contact surface of several sprags of the sprag assembly had small areas of the surface plating (proprietary to Formsprag) gouged/chipped away with one sprag having a larger area damaged. The outer surface of the sprags appeared normal.

The sprag surface of the clutch shaft and the sheave had several scuff marks that appeared to match the size and spacing of the sprags with two areas on the shaft that match the shape of the more damaged sprag. There was no other rotational scoring of the sprag surfaces. The diameter of the sprag surface on the clutch shaft was measured and verified to be within production specifications.

Probable Cause: The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action to correct the student pilot’s use of an excessive descent rate during a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

Damage sustained to airframe: Per the salvage report (see link #3) "The rotor blades are broken and the engine suffered a sudden stoppage. The fuselage is broken in three pieces. The canopy is broken." Aircraft presumably rendered as "damaged beyond economic repair", as the registration N784SH was cancelled by the FAA on March 6 2018.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN14LA313
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
2. FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=784SH
3. http://avclaims.com/N784SH.htm
4. http://helihub.com/2014/06/19/19-jun-14-n784sh-robinson-r22-greensfield-us-missouri/
5. http://fox2now.com/2014/06/19/two-injured-in-helicopter-accident/
6. http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Police-investigate-helicopter-crash-in-Lincoln-County-263848801.html
7. http://www.bnd.com/2014/06/20/3266106/helicopter-crashes-but-no-major.html

Location

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
20-Jun-2014 06:04 gerard57 Added
20-Jun-2014 14:06 gerard57 Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
20-Jun-2014 19:10 Anon. Updated [Aircraft type]
22-Jun-2014 19:01 Geno Updated [Registration, Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source]
25-Aug-2014 22:05 Aerossurance Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]
16-Oct-2016 17:42 Dr.John Smith Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
16-Oct-2016 17:50 Dr.John Smith Updated [Source, Embed code]
21-Dec-2016 19:28 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
29-Nov-2017 15:03 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Aug-2018 21:08 Dr.John Smith Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
18-Aug-2018 21:11 Dr.John Smith Updated [Operator]

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