Brackett Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

La Verne, California 91750
Saturday, June 5, 2010 10:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that during approach he noticed the trim was still on. He reached down to turn it off by feel while he was visually focused outside the helicopter and concentrating on the approach. The pilot reported that the trim knob was stuck in the "up" position and he applied increasing pressure until it moved. He said that while focused on the approach, he "blindly checked the status of the trim knob," and that he "unintentionally and without explanation pulled the mixture control up." The pilot reported that the engine instantly turned off and the low rotor RPM system activated, followed by the pilot entering an autorotation. The engine stopped at a height of approximately 50 feet above ground level (agl) and that the helicopter touched down in the dirt and rolled onto the pilot's side. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to the pilot's inadvertent movement of the mixture control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/5/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City La Verne
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 91750
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 340530N
Event Location Longitude 1174655W
Event Location Airport Brackett Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KPOC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1011
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KPOC
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 3
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
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) 27056
NTSB Notification Source Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 16 2010 6:10PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7028U
NTSB Number WPR10CA278
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name ROBINSON
Aircraft Model R22
Aircraft Series Identifier BETA
Aircraft Serial Number 2890
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 Mar 28 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1728
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Business Financial Services Corp
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2711 Centerville RD STE 400
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State CA
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 --
Operator City La Verne
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 91750
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code KPOC
Departure City La Verne
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KPOC
Destination City La Verne
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 16 2010 6:10PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --