Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Temecula, California 92590
Saturday, December 20, 2003 15:30 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The engine lost partial power during climb out from maneuvering in a canyon and the helicopter rolled over after landing right skid first on a slopped and uneven embankment. Prior to takeoff, the pilot received a weather briefing and noted no abnormal weather conditions. The pilot said he turned on the carburetor heat and left it in that position for the duration of the flight, about 45 minutes. To ensure adequate power was available, the pilot conducted in ground effect (IGE) and out of ground effect (OGE) hovers prior to entering the canyon where the accident occurred. The pilot entered a climb after maneuvering at 150 feet above ground level through the canyon. He reported that he had just checked the engine gauges (including the carburetor air temperature gauge), all of which were in the normal range, when the engine began to sputter and lose power. The pilot said he entered an autorotation and checked that the carburetor heat control was still in the ON position and that the carburetor temperature gauge was in the green during the descent. The pilot said he completed a successful touchdown on the right skid on a slope; the engine was still running, but insufficient power was being produced to keep the helicopter level. The helicopter then rolled over on its left side. An airframe inspection and engine test run were conducted. There were no anomalies with either the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Reported weather for the accident area showed the temperature as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dew point was 52 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the carburetor icing probability chart, these conditions were conducive to moderate icing at cruise power or serious icing at glide power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/20/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1530 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Temecula |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92590 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332259N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1165300W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1456 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 220 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OKB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 28 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 19901 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 20 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1610 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 28 2006 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SAN-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7189U |
| NTSB Number | LAX04LA073 |
| 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 | 3113 |
| 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 | Dec 1 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1380 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Sunstone Aviation, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 43350 Business Park Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Temecula |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92590 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | F70 |
| Departure City | Temecula |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1445 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | F70 |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 11 2006 5:07PM |
| 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 | -- |