Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
Thursday, March 13, 2008 9:40 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While the helicopter was en route at an estimated 200 hundred feet, a witness on the ground heard the engine "spitting and sputtering." Another witness saw parts “shedding” from the helicopter, then saw it reverse direction and descend until she lost sight of it behind a building. The helicopter subsequently impacted the ground in a vacant lot and erupted into flames. A postflight examination of the engine revealed no mechanical anomalies. The carburetor air temperature gauge was reported to be inoperative and interpolation of a carburetor icing probability chart revealed atmospheric conditions conducive to "serious icing" at glide power. However, the position of the carburetor heat could not be determined and the investigation could not establish the role that carburetor icing may have played in the accident. An examination of the two main rotor blades revealed that each had a section missing, beginning about equidistant from the rotor hub. Both sections were subsequently located away from the main wreckage. Both main rotor blades were also coned upwards from the hub, which, in conjunction with the missing blade sections, was consistent with a low rotor rpm condition. An examination of the tail rotor driveshaft, and the push-pull tube running along it, revealed that they had become entwined, consistent with a “whirl” condition. According to a representative of the manufacturer, such a whirl mode could occur if an overspeed occurs; the manufacturer's maximum operating main rotor rpm limitation is 102%. The event likely began with a partial loss of engine power, followed by the pilot’s delayed response to a low rotor rpm condition, which then resulted in the coning of the main rotor blades and a loss of main rotor blade material.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain proper rotor rpm after a partial loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/13/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 940 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Wilmington |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28401 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 340729N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0775354W |
| 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 | 953 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 179 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ILM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 32 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25579 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 13 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 29 2010 11:58AM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA/FSDO Greensboro |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2215R |
| NTSB Number | NYC08FA134 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ROBINSON |
| Aircraft Model | R22 Beta II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3084 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 14 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1389 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Maintenance Services LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Rocky Point |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28547 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Maintenance Services LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Rocky Point |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 28547 |
| 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 | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ILM |
| Departure City | Wilmington |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 941 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | ILM |
| Destination City | Wilmington |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 12 2010 10:25AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |