Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
North Las Vegas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
North Las Vegas, Nevada 89032
Friday, March 29, 2002 15:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter collided with the ground and rolled over while practicing autorotations. After arrival in the practice area, the instructor orbited the landing area and determined the wind direction. Three practice traffic patterns to normal hover were conducted and the instructor next wanted to demonstrate an autorotation touchdown. The helicopter was climbed to about 800 feet agl and the instructor checked the wind conditions and the engine instruments one more time, then entered a standard autorotation into the wind. About 40 feet agl he began a cyclic flare and noticed that the ground was coming up more quickly than it should. He continued the flare to reduce the descent rate and airspeed; however, the helicopter did not respond. He then reapplied the engine power and pulled up on the collective. He noted that the low rotor rpm horn came on just before impact. The helicopter hit the ground, skidded approximately 100 feet, and then came to rest on its left side. According to the student, the engine was running after the accident and there were no prior mechanical malfunctions. Winds at the time of the accident were reported to be from 060 at 5 knots, gusting to 14 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the flight instructor to properly judge the landing flare and add adequate cyclic, resulting in a hard landing which collapsed the left skid. The wind gusts were a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/29/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1515 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | North Las Vegas |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89032 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 361242N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1151145W |
| Event Location Airport | North Las Vegas |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | VGT |
| 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 | 2205 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KVGT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2203 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 4100 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14308 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 29 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1720 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-FSDO-Las Vegas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7040C |
| NTSB Number | LAX02LA119 |
| 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 | R22 Beta |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3187 |
| 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 | Mar 5 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 57 |
| Airframe Hours | 555 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Spitzer Helicopter Leasing Company |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3809 Amyx Court |
| Aircraft Owner City | Hayward |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 94542 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Silver State Flight School |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2722 Perimeter Road, Suite 217 |
| Operator City | North Las Vegas |
| Operator State | NV |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 89032 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | VGT |
| Departure City | North Las Vegas |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1515 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| 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? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 18 2003 6:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |