North Las Vegas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

North Las Vegas, Nevada 89146
Friday, June 14, 2002 9:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter collided with the ground while attempting a downwind takeoff from a remote practice area. During takeoff, the student pilot turned the helicopter downwind. The CFI took the controls and maneuvered the helicopter back into the wind. The student failed to relinquish the controls and began raising the collective. The certified flight instructor (CFI) overpowered the student and lowered the collective. The student lifted the collective again, and the helicopter became airborne. After repeating this sequence, the CFI forced the collective down and held it in the lowered position. While touching down, the helicopter slowly began to move backwards and the aft portion of the right skid dug into the rough terrain. The helicopter rolled on its right side. The CFI did not report any mechanical problems with the helicopter prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the student pilot's improper liftoff into tailwind conditions, improper use of the collective, and failure to relinquish the flight controls to the CFI, resulting in the helicopter colliding with terrain. Also causal was the CFI's inadequate supervision and delayed remedial action.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/14/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City North Las Vegas
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89146
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361245N
Event Location Longitude 1151146W
Event Location Airport North Las Vegas Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KVGT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 8
Degrees magnetic from airport 315
Airport Elevation 2205
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID VGT
Elevation of weather observation facility 2205
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
Density Altitude (feet) 4787
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16323
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 14 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1010
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-LAS-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7041B
NTSB Number LAX02LA196
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 Beta
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3207
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 May 16 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 493.3
Airframe Hours 585.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mander Associates LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3811 W. Charlstone Blvd. Suite 110
Aircraft Owner City Las Vegas
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89102
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Silver State Helicopters
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2722 Perimeter Rd.
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code VGT
Departure City North Las Vegas
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone PDT
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 16 2004 6:18PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --