Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Allegheny County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania 15012
Tuesady, December 16, 1997 12:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was performing an out-of-ground-effect hover with a 10 knot tailwind in a Robinson R-22. When the pilot raised the collective to maneuver, and the helicopter began to spin to the right. The helicopter spun four times, descended, and impacted the ground. The pilot had about 100 hours of helicopter experience, and about 10 hours of out-of-ground-effect hover experience. After the accident, the pilot told a police officer that he exceeded the limitations of the tail rotor. FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 90-95 stated all single main rotor helicopters were susceptible to loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE). The AC advised pilots that when maneuvering between hover and 30 knots to avoid; tailwinds, out of ground effect hover and high power demand such as lowspeed downwind turns. It also advised the pilots to be aware of wind direction and velocity. In 1995, the FAA sent a letter to all U.S helicopter manufactures recommending they include a discussion on LTE in the operator's handbooks and flight manuals. The Robinson Helicopter Company has not complied with that request.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper out-of-ground hover procedure, which resulted in a loss of tailrotor effectiveness.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/16/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | BELLE VERNON |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 15012 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AGC |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 15 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 1252 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1150 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AGC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1252 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1834 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 16 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1245 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N55TP |
| NTSB Number | NYC98LA043 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Robinson |
| Aircraft Model | R22 BETA |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | R22 BETA |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2215 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1370 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 22 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1281 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FLYAWAY INVESTORS INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 21 HEMINGWAY STREET |
| Aircraft Owner City | PITTSBURG |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 15213 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | AIRBURST HELICOPTERS INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 34 ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT |
| Operator City | WEST MIFFLIN |
| Operator State | PA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 15122 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | AGC |
| Departure City | PITTSBURGH |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1115 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 5 |
| Runway Length | 2547 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |