Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ciales
Tuesady, December 26, 2000 16:30 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor stated that he and the student had been performing autorotation landings in an open field, and when power was required by him to affect the recovery, the engine did not produce enough power. The instructor further stated that the helicopter landed hard and the main rotor hit the tail boom, separating half of it from the rest of the helicopter. An FAA inspector and an FAA licensed company mechanic examined the accident helicopter, and performed a static power test on the engine. According to the inspector, the static check was conducted for about 15 minutes, with the engine operating at idle and at full power, and no abnormalities were observed. In addition, the inspector stated that examination of the fuel filter revealed no evidence of fuel contamination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the flight crew's failure to follow procedures for a straight-in autorotation with power recovery that resulted in their improper use of collective resulting in a hard landing and substantial damage to the helicopter.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/26/2000
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City CIALES
Event State PUERTO RICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 00638
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1654 Atlantic Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID JSJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation AST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1500
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 604
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 27 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N195HC
NTSB Number MIA01LA049
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Robinson
Aircraft Model R-22 BETA
Aircraft Series Identifier R-22 BETA
Aircraft Serial Number 2007
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 --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 13 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 3267
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name COPTERS CORPORATION
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX
Aircraft Owner City SAN JUAN
Aircraft Owner State PR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 00940
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code TSIG
Departure City SAN JUAN
Departure State PR
Departure Country
Departure Time 1545
Departure Time Zone AST
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --