Lee's Summit Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lee's Summit, Missouri 64064
Sunday, August 18, 2013 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor was providing primary helicopter instruction to a fixed-wing pilot on how to conduct 180-degree autorotations. The instructor said the pilot entered the flare lower to the ground than usual and began to descend. By the time the instructor noticed the high descent rate, it was too late for him to recover and he was only able to apply full-up collective to cushion the impact. The helicopter landed hard spreading the skids. During the landing and the main rotor blades flexed downward and severed the tailboom.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's improper flare while performing an autorotation and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action to correct the high sink rate, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/18/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Lee's Summit
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64064
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 385720N
Event Location Longitude 0942210E
Event Location Airport Lee's Summit Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LXT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1004
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
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 --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 32308
NTSB Notification Source KC ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 14 2014 3:44PM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8316D
NTSB Number CEN13CA575
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 HELICOPTER COMPANY
Aircraft Model R22 MARINER
Aircraft Series Identifier MARINER
Aircraft Serial Number 2481M
Certified Max Gross Weight 1369
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARINEPHOTO HELICOPTER LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City OCEAN VIEW
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 199703310
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name MARINEPHOTO HELICOPTER LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Ocean View
Operator State DE
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LXT
Departure City Lee's Summit
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LXT
Destination City Lee's Summit
Destination State MO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 14 2014 8:27AM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 4016
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --