ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 183931
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| Date: | Friday 22 January 2016 |
| Time: | 11:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Binner Enterprises LLC |
| Registration: | N7020U |
| MSN: | 2837 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1998 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8239 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360 SER |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 10 miles NW of North Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | North Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada (VGT/KVGT) |
| North Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada (VGT/KVGT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On January 22, 2016, about 11:00 PST (Pacific Standard Time), a Robinson R22 Beta, N7020U, sustained substantial damage following the student pilot's loss of control while attempting to transition from a hover taxi to a climbing departure near Las Vegas, Nevada. The pilot received minor injuries. The solo instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no FAA flight plan was filed for the flight.
According to the pilot, the helicopter was rented from a fixed base operator (FBO) and FAR Part 61 flight school based at North Las Vegas airport (VGT), Las Vegas. The purpose of the flight was to practice maneuvers at a water retention basin that was located about 10 miles to the northwest of VGT. The area was a normal practice area for the FBO, and was referred to as the "northwest" practice area. A concrete levee, about 50 feet high, bounded the east side of the basin. The levee was oriented north-south, was topped by a roadway, and its west wall sloped about 25 degrees from horizontal.
In his written statement regarding the accident, the pilot reported that he met with his flight instructor, briefed the flight, and then both individuals pre-flighted the helicopter. The instructor then returned to his office facility, while the student continued with the flight preparations. Engine start and run up were normal, and the reported VGT winds were "variable" at 7 knots out of the south. The pilot was cleared for departure by the air traffic control tower about 10:40 PST, and proceeded to the practice area uneventfully.
The pilot intended to practice normal approaches to a pinnacle landing. He flew a right traffic pattern over the levee to verify wind direction, and to choose a location on the levee to which he would conduct the approach. He confirmed that the wind was still out of the south, and flew a northbound right downwind leg at approximately 500 feet above ground level (agl), at a speed of about 65 knots. He began a descent while turning onto the base leg, and maintained a descent rate of about 300 feet per minute (fpm) on final, while also decelerating. He brought the helicopter into a hover taxi at about 10 feet agl above the levee.
The pilot reported that he then "pushed forward" on the cyclic control to begin a climb out for another pattern. The helicopter began to yaw to the right, and despite application of full left pedal, continued its right yawing motion. The pilot "rolled off" the throttle in an attempt to decrease the yaw rate, and concurrently lowered the collective control. The helicopter continued its right spin, and began drifting to the west, over the concrete sloped portion of the levee. The pilot then decided to "gradually raise collective" in an attempt to reduce the descent rate before ground contact. The helicopter made a hard landing almost immediately after, but remained upright. The pilot then shut down the helicopter, and telephoned his flight instructor, who had remained back at VGT. In his statements regarding the accident the pilot reported that he did not observe any engine anomalies, or the illumination of the low rotor rpm light. Sketches provided by the pilot indicated that his arrival flight path was along the top of the levee, as was his intended departure path.
Damage to the helicopter included fracture-separated tail rotor blades, a buckled tail boom, and deformation of the landing skids. The helicopter was recovered to a secure location for subsequent examination.
PROBABLE CAUSE: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The loss of helicopter control as a result of the loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=7020U
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20160305130719/http://news3lv.com:80/news/local/helicopter-makes-emergency-landing-in-detention-basin-near-kyle-canyon-road
4. http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/01/robinson-r22-beta-n7020u-binner.html
5. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/43418/
6. https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N7020U
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Jan-2016 17:47 | Aerossurance | Added |
| 25-Jan-2016 20:02 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Source] |
| 18-Oct-2016 20:44 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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