ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 191369
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 November 2016 |
| Time: | 15:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Mariner |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N306RL |
| MSN: | 2833M |
| Year of manufacture: | 1998 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3121 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360-J2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Brandywine Airport, West Chester, PA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | West Chester-Brandywine Airport, PA (OQN/KOQN) |
| West Chester-Brandywine Airport, PA (OQN/KOQN) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight instructor was demonstrating straight-in autorotations to a power recovery over the runway. He stated that the wind during the flight was generally from the north, but shearing horizontally to the northeast/northwest. He began to flare the helicopter about 40 ft above the ground. About 20 ft above the ground, a large wind gust with a horizontal wind shear resulted in a drift to the right and loss of tail rotor effectiveness. He corrected the drift and heading with flight control inputs, returned to the runway area, and continued the flare. During the last portion of the flare, the helicopter encountered a vertical wind shear and climbed about 20 ft. At that point, "all wind stopped," and the helicopter descended. The instructor attempted a power recovery; however, the helicopter landed hard on the skids with some lateral motion. The helicopter bounced, the left skid broke, and the helicopter rolled and came to rest on its left side. The flight instructor did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Postaccident examination of the wreckage confirmed substantial damage to the airframe and main rotor blades; there was no evidence of a preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction. Additionally, the flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunction or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The flight instructor's decision to continue the practice autorotation in known gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing and roll over.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N306RL
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Nov-2016 15:40 | Geno | Added |
| 16-Nov-2016 17:08 | Anon. | Updated [Damage] |
| 13-Jul-2018 23:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Sep-2018 18:15 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 12-Sep-2023 19:54 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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