Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Suffolk, Virginia 23434
Saturday, November 24, 2007 13:40 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was circling the helicopter near friends, about 600 feet above the ground. After a few turns, as he was departing the area, the pilot noticed that the clutch light was illuminated. About 5 seconds later, he pulled the clutch circuit breaker. At the same time, the engine's rpm "sharply" increased and the main rotor rpm alarm sounded. The pilot immediately lowered the collective and "rolled on the throttle" in an attempt to increase rotor rpm. When that failed, the pilot performed an autorotation to the ground; however, during the descent, he was unable to bring the rotor rpm back into the "green" range. The helicopter landed hard, the skids spread, and a main rotor blade impacted the tail boom. Postaccident examination of the helicopter drive system revealed that the V-drive belts had rolled off the sheaves, but the reason they did so could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The V-drive belts' rolling off the sheaves for undetermined reasons, resulting in a loss of power to the rotor system, and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm during the autorotation, resulting in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/24/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1340
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Suffolk
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23434
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 365248N
Event Location Longitude 0761251W
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 1341 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID SFQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 72
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
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 --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
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) 30.44
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24854
NTSB Notification Source FAA East Region ROC
NTSB Notification Date Nov 24 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2008 9:35PM
User who most recently changed record muzd
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N442FA
NTSB Number NYC08LA043
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
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0708
Certified Max Gross Weight 1370
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 4 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 3872
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aaron Jackson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Suffolk
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23434
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Aaron Jackson
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Suffolk
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 23434
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Whaleyville
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SFQ
Destination City Suffolk
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2008 9:35PM
User who most recently changed record muzd
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --