ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 152592
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| Date: | Thursday 17 January 2013 |
| Time: | 12:45 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Northeast Helicopters Flight Services LLC |
| Registration: | N26NE |
| MSN: | 2353 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 10639 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming 0-320 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ellington airport, 360 Somers Road, Ellington, Connecticut -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Ellington airport, Ellington, Connecticut (7B9) |
| Ellington airport, Ellington, Connecticut (7B9) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On January 17, 2013, about 12:45 EST (Eastern Standard Time), a Robinson R-22 Beta helicopter, N26NE, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during a practice auto-rotation at Ellington Airport (7B9), Ellington, Connecticut. The flight instructor (CFI) sustained minor injuries and the commercial-rated pilot receiving instruction was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight that originated from 7B9 about 12:40, and was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to the CFI, the helicopter remained at traffic pattern altitude in order to conduct a practice autorotation. The helicopter turned onto the final leg of the traffic pattern and the CFI and the pilot initiated a practice autorotation from about 950 feet above ground level by lowering the collective and reducing the throttle. Upon entry, the pilots observed an "excessively high" rotor RPM indication that continued to climb toward the top of the tachometer. Both pilots raised the collective control and pushed the cyclic control forward to decrease the rotor RPM, but the rotor RPM remained high and did not respond to control inputs.
As the helicopter approached the runway, the CFI elected to terminate the approach with power, and instructed the pilot to "join" the needles on the dual tachometer by restoring full engine power. Both the CFI and the pilot applied engine power simultaneously; however, the engine tachometer also indicated an overspeed condition. The CFI assumed sole control of the helicopter and initiated a deceleration, but the helicopter pitched up, rolled right, and impacted the ground on its side, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor and fuselage.
Examination of the wreckage revealed that the vertical collective control push-pull tube was disconnected from the collective jackshaft assembly. A search of the wreckage resulted in the recovery of the attachment bolt and its associated washers and locknut, but the locking device was not found. Examination of the bolt and locknut threads revealed that they were undamaged. The bolt, locknut, washers, spacers, and the interior bore of the collective jackshaft assembly exhibited radial and axial smearing and fretting wear scarring of their contact surfaces. The wear was consistent with a lack of tightening force on the attachment hardware at installation. The helicopter’s most recent overhaul was completed about 2 years before the accident, and subsequent inspections were performed between the time of the overhaul and the accident. The operator stated that he, along with licensed and unlicensed mechanics who he supervised, worked on the helicopter during the 6 months required for completion of the overhaul.
Probable Cause: The separation of the collective push-pull tube and jackshaft assembly, which resulted in the total loss of helicopter control and collision with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate supervision of maintenance personnel by the operator during overhaul, which resulted in inadequate tightening force applied to the collective jackshaft attachment hardware, and the failure of maintenance personnel to detect the loose hardware during subsequent inspections.
Aircraft presumably written off (damaged beyond economic repair) as the registration N26NE was cancelled by the FAA on December 4 2014
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
2. FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=26NE
3. http://helihub.com/2013/01/17/17-jan-13-n26ne-robinson-r22-ellington-us-connecticut/
4. http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/No-Injuries-in-Helicopter-Incident-187322701.html
5. http://www.ctnow.com/news/connecticut/tolland/hc-ellington-crash-landing-0118-20130117,0,1670366.story
6. http://suffield.patch.com/articles/helicopter-crashes-at-ellington-airport
7. https://uk.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N26NE
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jan-2013 13:09 | gerard57 | Added |
| 17-Jan-2013 13:38 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source] |
| 18-Jan-2013 09:12 | Geno | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Jan-2013 14:10 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 12-Oct-2016 17:32 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Oct-2016 17:34 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 28-Nov-2017 14:05 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Aug-2018 00:51 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
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