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April 27, 2000 · Robinson R22 BETA · N622EH

San Diego, CA

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
April 27, 2000
Injury Outcomes
2 injuries (1 fatality, 1 serious injury)
Location
San Diego, CA
Aircraft
Robinson R22 BETA
Tail Number
N622EH
Operator
Marcus Phares
Injuries
Fatal
Aircraft Damage
Destroyed
NTSB Number
LAX00LA172

According to the student pilot, he was a rated commercial pilot working toward his 20 hours of indoctrination into the aircraft. "We were going to practice emergency procedures in the aircraft and get a little bit more familiar with flying it." The student was flying the helicopter and decided to fly over an Indian Reservation to look at their motocross track for future photography work in the helicopter. The student told the instructor to take the controls and fly a racetrack pattern over the track and make an aerial application type turn at the end of the track to reverse course. The student would then try and duplicate the maneuver. As they changed controls from one another they would say, "You got it," or "Okay, I got it" to confirm the transition. After the maneuvers were completed over the track, a critiquing took place while the student was flying in a hover. After the critiquing the student reported that he told the instructor to fly us out of here and we will go over to Ramona. According to the student, when the instructor took the controls he said, "I got it." About the same time, the student said that the helicopter drifted a little bit and lost a little altitude. The student got back on the controls and the instructor said "I got it" and he let go. The helicopter again drifted a little bit and the student saw through the lower bubble a rock sticking up out of the brush. The brush was about 5 feet high. The helicopter drifted over, the skid hit the rock, and the helicopter went into a dynamic rollover. The Safety Board examined the wreckage after recovery. There were no airframe or engine pre-accident discrepancies or mechanical malfunctions observed during the examination of the recovered remains.

NTSB Probable Cause

The failure of the flight instructor to maintain control of the helicopter, resulting in skid contact with an obstacle and dynamic roll over.

Full Narrative

On April 26, 2000, at 1713 hours Pacific daylight time, a Robinson R22 Beta, N622EH, was destroyed when it collided with rocks while maneuvering over the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County, California. The instructor pilot and student pilot both received serious injuries; the instructor pilot's injuries were fatal. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight operating under 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from private property about 1700, and was destined for Ramona Airport, Ramona, California, with maneuvers performed at the La Jolla Indian Reservation racetrack. According to the student pilot, "I was a rated commercial pilot working toward my 20 hours of indoctrination into the aircraft. We were going to practice emergency procedures in the aircraft and get a little bit more familiar with flying it. I was flying the aircraft and we decided first to fly over the La Jolla Indian Reservation and take a look at the racetrack; I was going to be doing some future photography work in the helicopter for the motocross races there." The student told the instructor to take the controls and fly a racetrack pattern over the track and make an aerial application type turn at the end of the track to reverse course. Then the student would try and duplicate the maneuver. As they changed controls from one another they would say, "You got it," or " Okay, I got it" to confirm the transition. After the maneuvers were completed over the track, a critiquing took place while the student was flying in a hover. After the critiquing, the student reported that he told the instructor to fly us out of here and we will go over to Ramona. According to the student, when the instructor took the controls he said, "I got it." About the same time, the student said that the helicopter drifted a little bit and lost a little altitude. The student got back on the controls and the instructor said "I got it" and he let go. The helicopter again drifted a little bit and the student saw through the lower bubble a rock sticking up out of the brush. The brush was about 5 feet high. The helicopter drifted over, the skid hit the rock, and the helicopter went into a dynamic rollover. A postaccident fire consumed major portions of the helicopter. The Safety Board examined the wreckage after recovery with no anomalies discovered. The pilot stated in his report of the accident that there were no mechanical discrepancies.

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time17:13 PDT
Nearest Airport0nm
Runway0
Flight Plan FiledNone
Aircraft FireGrd
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftRobinson R22 BETA
Tail NumberN622EH
Aircraft CategoryHeli
DamageDestroyed
OperatorMarcus Phares
Operating RulePart 91
Engines1
Engine TypeReciprocating
Engine DetailsLycoming · O-360-A1D · Reciprocating · 180
Seats2

People & Injuries

Injury Summary2 injuries (1 fatality, 1 serious injury)
Fatal1
Serious1
Minor0
Uninjured0
Total2
Crew 1Age 33 · First Class

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
Wind270° @ 4 kt
Visibility5 sm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point70 F / 57
Altimeter29.00 inHg
Observation Time23:51
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data