ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 230537
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 14 February 2018 |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 |
| Owner/operator: | Holy City Helicopters |
| Registration: | N337H |
| MSN: | 2999 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7989 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360-J2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Charleston, SC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Charleston, SC (CHS) |
| Charleston, SC (CHS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During an instructional flight in the helicopter, the student pilot was on the controls. The flight instructor said the student had transitioned from a hover through effective transitional lift and established forward flight and then initiated a right turn. He added that, during the right turn, he and the student saw a small, white unmanned aerial system (UAS) about 10 ft in front of the helicopter at “eye level.” The instructor took the flight controls and made a hard right and aft cyclic input. After the evasive maneuver, the helicopter had very little forward airspeed. The helicopter was about 40 ft above ground level as it began settling with power. The helicopter descended, and the tail rotor entered trees. The helicopter then developed a right spin, and the instructor rolled the throttle off to alleviate the spin and then increased the collective to try to cushion the landing. Subsequently, the helicopter impacted the ground and rolled over onto its right side.
A UAS was not recovered. It is likely that the instructor’s abrupt maneuver led to the loss of forward airspeed and the helicopter’s subsequent descent into trees, which resulted in the right spin from which the instructor could not recover before impact with terrain.
Probable Cause: The flight instructor’s abrupt evasive maneuver to avoid a reported unmanned aerial system, which resulted in a loss of forward airspeed and settling with power and a subsequent collision with trees and terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Nov-2019 17:41 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation