ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39391
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| Date: | Friday 23 November 1990 |
| Time: | 16:03 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Orbic Helicopters Inc |
| Registration: | N80783 |
| MSN: | 1319 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Engine model: | LYCOMING O-320-B2C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Simi Valley, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, California (VNY/KVNY) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On November 23, 1990, about 16:03 PST (Pacific Standard Time), N80783, a Robinson R22 Beta operated by Orbic Helicopters, Inc., broke up in flight near Simi Valley, California, during a solo flight. The flight had originated at Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, California, at approximately 15:35 PST. No one witnessed the in-flight breakup; however, one person reported hearing the rotor blades make a "thwack-thwack-thwack" sound, and then observed a plume of smoke where the wreckage was subsequently located. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and by post-impact fire.
The wreckage debris encompassed an oval-shaped area 300 feet long, on 25 degrees up-sloping hilly terrain. The private pilot (airplane) who was a "student" helicopter pilot, was killed. The weather at Van Nuys Airport (15 miles from the accident site) at 15:46 hours PST was reported to be 25 miles visibility with winds from 340 degrees at 18 knots.
The pilot's logbook recorded a total of 160 hours of pilot flight time, 37 of which were in helicopters--all in the Robinson R22 helicopter. The student pilot's flight instructor had reportedly authorized the student to fly from the Van Nuys Airport to a practice area, near the crash site. The student pilot had been directed to practice takeoffs to a hover, traffic patterns, and normal approaches to landings. According to the flight instructor, the pilot had been a "better-than-average" student and had not experienced any unusual problems learning to fly the helicopter.
The NTSB's examination of the wreckage found that a main rotor blade had struck and severed the tail-boom. Pieces of the tail-boom and the intact tail rotor assembly were located approximately 165 feet from the main wreckage. Fragmented pieces of the helicopter's plexiglass windscreen were located along the wreckage path, an estimated 100 yards from the fuselage.
The upper section of the left door frame was also found separated from the fuselage and located about 135 feet from the main wreckage. The section of separated door contained a smearing of black paint that matched the color of paint found on the leading edge of the main rotor blades. Both main rotor blades were found bent in the aft direction and exhibited impact damage to the blades, and leading edge and chord-wise scoring. Examination of the collective and cyclic control tubes, swash plate assembly, and main rotor pitch change links revealed no evidence of pre-impact failure.
The examination of the engine revealed no anomalies or pre-impact damage to the internal engine components. The NTSB could find no evidence of the specific event that caused or allowed the main rotor blades to diverge from their normal flight path plane and strike the airframe. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of this accident was a divergence of the main rotor from its normal plane of rotation for an undermined reason, which resulted in main rotor blade contact to the tail boom and cockpit.
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: LAX91FA037 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X24624&key=1&queryId=65808e76-10a5-4078-87ba-7ca366d8178a&pgno=7&pgsize=100
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=80783
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=1168
4. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/ca/N80783/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 25-May-2016 13:19 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Sep-2016 21:23 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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