ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 35773
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Date: | Wednesday 4 March 1992 |
Time: | 15:35 |
Type: | Robinson R22 |
Owner/operator: | Wesley F. Morris (owner) |
Registration: | N8413Q |
MSN: | 0354 |
Total airframe hrs: | 2128 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | 5 miles NE of Estrella Sailport, near Maricopa,Arizona -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Private |
Departure airport: | Estrella Sailport, near Maricopa,Arizona |
Destination airport: | Chandler, Arizona (P19) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:On March 4, 1992, at approximately 15:35 MST (Mountain Standard Time), N8413Q, a Robinson R22, broke up in flight while cruising about 5 miles northeast of Estrella Sailport near Maricopa,Arizona. The helicopter was destroyed, and the airline transport pilot (a former airline captain) was killed.
The last entry in the pilot's logbook was dated January 1, 1992, and indicated that he had accumulated 31,000 total flight hours, 292 of which were in helicopters--all in the R22. No one witnessed the accident.
The pilot was last seen departing Estrella Sailport in his R22. A CFI who had witnessed the R22's departure stated that at approximately 15:20 [the accident pilot] had completed his "by-the-book pre-flight" and departed for his home at Stellar Airpark. The crash site was located on the direct course line between the Estrella and Stellar airports.
The severed left door was the first piece of the helicopter found along the 475-foot-long wreckage path. The main wreckage exhibited evidence that a main rotor blade had entered the left side of the cockpit and severed a portion of the left forward skid. One of the main rotor blades revealed damage approximately 48 inches from the tip. The left door and left forward airframe exhibited a severe strike and yellow paint transfer consistent with the shape and painted surface of the main rotor blade.
The damage to the left forward skid was consistent with a main rotor blade strike while the blade was being
driven at a downward angle (as referenced with the main rotor hub) of approximately 70 degrees.
The wreckage was examined for evidence of possible pre-impact failures of the control system or airframe that might have initiated the breakup; however, none were found. The top of the transmission case was fractured (360 degrees) and exhibited signatures of both compression and tension. The left rear transmission mount and right forward mount bolt made an impression in the surface of the engine shroud consistent with a rocking motion of the transmission in the left rear to right-forward direction. The main rotor shaft exhibited torsional twisting and bending directly below the mount for the main rotor hub.
The pitch change links exhibited bending overload failures at the upper adjustment threads. The pitch change links and spindle tusks were fractured in overload, consistent with damage resulting from the divergence of the main rotor blades from their normal plane of rotation. The droop stops were found crushed and exhibited the effects of repeated pounding. The main rotor hub was disassembled and examined at the Robinson Helicopter Company in Torrance, California, under the supervision of a Designated Manufacturing Inspector Representative (DMIR) and the Safety Board.
Examination of the main rotor hub and main rotor spindles revealed multiple indentations, adjacent to where the spindle tusks are installed, consistent with the blades traveling to the design limits in the up and down direction (flapping). The Safety Board's probable cause of this accident was destructive mast bumping for an undetermined reason.
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: LAX92FA137 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X14307_ 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=8413Q Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
25-May-2016 13:58 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
25-May-2016 13:58 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Narrative] |
20-Sep-2016 18:18 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
21-Dec-2016 19:22 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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