ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 216671
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 June 2006 |
| Time: | 18:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Astro |
| Owner/operator: | Joe R Rascon |
| Registration: | N52EP |
| MSN: | 0077 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1994 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1805 hours |
| Engine model: | Textron Lycoming O-540-F1B5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, Fresno, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, Fresno, California (FCH/KFCH) |
| Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, Fresno, California (FCH/KFCH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Substantially damaged at 18:00 PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) when crashed at Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, Fresno, California (at approximate coordinates 36'7425"N, 119'82167"W). The pilot - the sole person on board - was uninjured. According to the official NTSB report into the accident...
The pilot lost tail rotor authority control of the helicopter during a downwind hovering turn. The helicopter was parked facing a downwind direction and the pilot estimated the winds at 13 knots. The pilot positioned the helicopter to a hover about 4-5 feet above ground level (agl) and initiated a left pedal turn into the wind. He felt the tail rotor start to shudder, and the helicopter began yawing to the left. The helicopter then entered a spin and started to gain altitude. After three spins, the pilot executed a hovering autorotation at 15 feet agl. The left skid contacted the ground first. The helicopter then nosed forward about 30 degrees, and the main rotor blades hit the ground. The pilot applied aft cyclic, and the helicopter touched down level on both skids. The helicopter came to rest on a sloped area between the taxiway and runway. The pilot stated that the helicopter and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: the pilot's failure to maintain directional control following a loss of tail rotor effectiveness while in a downwind hover.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Accident Number: LAX06CA221 at https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20060727X01033&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=CA
2. FAA Registration: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=N52EP
3. https://uk.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N52EP
4. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N52EP.html
5. https://planecrashmap.com/list/ca/
6. Business & Commercial Aviation March 2011 page 32 at http://www.abag.org.br/news/documents/Seg_Voo-Perda_na_eficacia.pdf
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Oct-2018 19:40 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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