Mac Arthur Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Islip, New York 11751
Saturday, March 10, 2001 17:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot were practicing auto-rotations from a hover. According to the CFI, after the student pilot rolled off the throttle, he immediately raised the collective, instead of letting the helicopter settle. The helicopter also began to yaw to the left and the wind was 17 to 21 knots, blowing from right to left. The student pilot then made an abrupt input to the cyclic control and the left skid contacted the ground. He also applied "full up collective a little too early." The CFI said that the helicopter's left skid dug into the soft ground, and it began to roll over. He further stated, "When I realized the helicopter was about to pivot over, it was already too late...." The helicopter rolled onto it's left side, and the main and tail rotor blades contacted the ground. The CFI reported he had accumulated approximately 900 flight hours in helicopters, of which, about 800 hours were in the R-22. Winds reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, were from 290 degrees at 11 knots, with 19 knot gusts.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The certified flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and delayed remedial action, which resulted in a roll-over. Factors in this accident were the crosswind condition and soft landing area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/10/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Islip
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11751
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404742N
Event Location Longitude 0740600W
Event Location Airport Mac Arthur
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ISP
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 99
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1656 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID ISP
Elevation of weather observation facility 99
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.88
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10324
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 11 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1410
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2001 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Farmingdale

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9077F
NTSB Number NYC01LA087
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Robinson
Aircraft Model R-22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0269
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 Feb 16 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 8503
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Eastern Flight Services
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2111 Smithtown Ave
Aircraft Owner City Ronkonkoma
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11779
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Helicopter Flight Training, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code ISP
Departure City Islip
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code ISP
Destination City Islip
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 10 2001 2:31PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --