ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39419
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| Date: | Saturday 22 March 1986 |
| Time: | 00:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N9069S |
| MSN: | 0181 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1805 hours |
| Engine model: | LYCOMING O-320-A2C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 8.5 miles W of Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee (MEM/KMEM) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On March 22, 1986, about 14:15 CST (Central Standard Time), a Robinson R22 helicopter, registration N9069S, broke apart during a personal flight 8.5 nautical miles west of its point of origin at Memphis International Airport. The flight had departed at 1247. Both occupants of the R22 were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed. The pilot-in-command had accumulated 2,370 pilot flight hours, 306 of which were in helicopters and 229 in the R22.
The main wreckage (cockpit, skid assembly, and engine) came to rest on a level plowed field. The tail boom and tail rotor assembly had separated from the fuselage, and pieces were located 412 feet northwest of the main wreckage.
Visual meteorological conditions reportedly prevailed with the sky clear, visibility 15 statute miles, winds from 230 degrees at 8 knots, and the temperature 55 degrees F at the time of the accident.
The helicopter's paint scheme was white, blue, and yellow. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the tail boom had separated at the second bay aft of the fuselage attachment point. The leading edges of the main rotor blades exhibited blue and yellow paint transfer. The separated sections of tail boom structure exhibited diagonal impacts from left to right (viewed from aft looking forward) at three locations. One main rotor blade droop stop and both pitch change links were fractured in overload. The upper main rotor mast exhibited indentations corresponding to hub contact.
The base of the main rotor mast was fractured in overload and separated at the top of the transmission. Physical evidence indicated that the bending of the upper main rotor shaft occurred before the fracture of the transmission cap, and secondary to the main rotor blades traveling beyond their normal flapping range. An instability of the main rotor, rocking of the mast, and extreme pitch divergence of the main rotor blades appeared to precede the fractures of the main rotor flight control system.
The helicopter's cyclic and collective controls were examined. There was no evidence of fatigue or pre-impact failure of control system components. A partial disassembly of the engine revealed no evidence of engine internal mechanical malfunction. The Safety Board was unable to define the event that caused the main rotor blades to divert from their normal plane of rotation and strike the tailboom
Sources:
1, NTSB Identification: ATL86FA097 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001213X32968&key=1&queryId=fb7d1bd0-2de7-4c40-a17c-b77a68398b29&pgno=27&pgsize=20
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=9069S
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=35818
4. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/tn/N9069S/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 07-Feb-2016 22:15 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Feb-2016 22:16 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2016 11:57 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 18-Sep-2016 18:14 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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