Robinson Helicopter R22 N8042B accident near Champaign, Illinois

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to arrest the descent rate during the practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot reported that, while practicing 180° autorotations about 500 ft above ground level, the flight instructor reduced the throttle, and the student pilot lowered the collective while simultaneously applying aft cyclic and right pedal. He added that the helicopter began to "dive," and the flight instructor took control of the helicopter.

The flight instructor reported that he initiated a go-around by applying aft cyclic and raising the collective, but they "continued in a rapid descent." The flight instructor added that at "roughly fifty feet, [he] flared harder to attempt a next-to-final arrest." The helicopter landed hard, the skids collapsed, and the main rotor blades severed the tailboom. The helicopter slid about 300 ft down the runway toward the right; the right skid stuck into the grass, and the helicopter rotated clockwise about the right skid, tipped onto the nose, and rolled to the left.

The flight instructor reported that he and the student pilot had performed about 10 to 12 practice autorotations before the accident.

The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.

The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Robinson Helicopter Company published Safety Notice, SN-38, dated July 2003 and revised in October 2004, which addressed training accidents caused by practice autorotations and stated, in part:

A high percentage of training accidents occur after many consecutive autorotations. To maintain instructor focus and minimize student fatigue, limit practice to no more than 3 or 4 consecutive autorotations.

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Helicopter Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-21A, dated 2012, addressed tailboom strikes during autorotations and stated, in part:

A power recovery can be made during training in lieu of a full touchdown landing. Refer to the section on power recovery for the correct technique. After the helicopter has come to a complete stop after touchdown, lower the collective pitch to the full-down position. Do not try to stop the forward ground run with aft cyclic, as the main rotor blades can strike the tail boom. Rather, by lowering the collective slightly during the ground run, more weight is placed on the undercarriage, slowing the helicopter.

One common error is holding the helicopter off the surface versus cushioning the helicopter on to the surface during an autorotation. Holding the helicopter in the air by using all of the rotor rpm potential energy usually causes the helicopter to have a hard landing, which results in the blades flexing down and contacting the tail boom. The rotor rpm should be used to cushion the helicopter on to the surface for a controlled, smooth landing instead of allowing the helicopter to drop the last few inches.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA17CA112 for the full record.