Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
El Monte, California 91731
Friday, September 14, 2007 11:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While in cruise flight about 1,700 feet agl, the flight instructor heard a loud "bang" from the back of the helicopter. The alternator warning light illuminated, and he initiated the alternator emergency procedure. He noticed the engine's rpm was fluctuating with the main rotor rpm indicating high and the engine rpm low. He entered an autorotation and landed on uneven terrain; the main rotor struck the tail boom, and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. The helicopter was examined by a Safety Board investigator. The two main drive V-belts were located in the drive compartment with one positioned on the drive pulleys in the middle slot (between the normal operating positions for the forward and aft belts), and the other was located completely off of the drive pulleys. Both belts exhibited damage on the inside including scratch marks, material and color transfers, and gouges consistent with damage by a rubber based foreign object. Rubber and color transfer in a transverse orientation inconsistent with the drive belts was noted on the upper and lower pulleys. The alternator belt was missing and not recovered. The clutch assembly was located in the up position with the actuator fully extended, and the safety stop activated. The oil cooler sustained damage to the outer fins. Rubber transfer was located on the oil cooler, starter, oil lines, and exhaust tube on a plane with the alternator belt's rotation. The alternator belt is located directly below the lower main drive pulley. No other preimpact anomalies with either the airframe or engine were discovered. As a result of this investigation Robinson is changing the specification for the alternator drive belt.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
a failure of the main rotor drive system V-belts due to damage sustained when the alternator drive belt failed and pieces of that belt got between the main drive belts and their associated pulleys. A contributing factor was the uneven terrain encountered in the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/14/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1115 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | El Monte |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91731 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 340510N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1180205W |
| 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 | 1047 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 225 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KCQT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| 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) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 22864 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 14 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 30 2008 4:08PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Los Angeles FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N877HF |
| NTSB Number | LAX07LA274 |
| 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 | 3589 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1370 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Aug 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 41 |
| Airframe Hours | 1708 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Business Financial Services, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2711 Centerville Rd |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wilmington |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19808 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Universal Air Academy |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4233 Santa Anita Avenue |
| Operator City | El Monte |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 91731 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | EMT |
| Departure City | El Monte |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | EMT |
| Destination City | El Monte |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 18 2007 5:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |