Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Redding, Connecticut 06896
Sunday, May 29, 2011 15:08 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he felt an abnormal vibration in the helicopter during cruise flight. He performed a precautionary landing to residential driveway. Postincident examination revealed that the tail rotor teeter hinge bolt had fractured completely due to fatigue and that there was no torque stripe on the bolt to help identify possible movement. The manufacturer’s preflight inspection checklist required the pilot to verify that the tail rotor teeter hinge bolt does not rotate. When asked about preflight inspections, the pilot stated that he does not always use the manufacturer's preflight checklist. Maintenance records show that the most recent annual inspection was performed about 4 weeks before the incident. According to the manufacturer's maintenance procedures, during an annual inspection, a mechanic should verify that the tail rotor teeter hinge bolt remains stationary when teetering the hub. Also, it is recommended that a mechanic applies a torque stripe to the bolt. In addition, the maintenance manual contained an unboxed warning message about the importance of the correct installation of the tail rotor to prevent a failure of the teeter hinge bolt and loss of the tail rotor.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate helicopter preflight inspection and the mechanic’s inadequate annual inspection, both of which failed to detect a worn bolt in the tail rotor teeter hinge prior to its fracture due to fatigue.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 5/29/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1508 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Redding |
| Event State | CONNECTICUT |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 06896 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 411922N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0732313W |
| 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 | 1453 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 125 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DXR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 458 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.08 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KDXR 291853Z 18006G14KT 10SM BKN039 27/19 A3 |
| 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) | 29327 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Windsor Locks FAA/FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 30 2011 1:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8313E |
| NTSB Number | ERA11IA320 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY |
| Aircraft Model | R22 MARINER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2463M |
| 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 | May 1 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2200 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SHEVAH AVI |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | HOLLIS |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 11423-1124 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SHEVAH AVI |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | HOLLIS |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 11423-1124 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 20N |
| Departure City | Kingston |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1330 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MVY |
| Destination City | Vineyard Haven |
| Destination State | MA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 30 2011 1:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |