FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

LAX00LA129 · Robinson R22B

11 Mar 2000 · San Diego, CA, United States

Smiley'S Helicopters Robinson R22B · Accident: loss of control in flight during initial climb

From an unrecorded airport to Oceanside Municipal Airport (OKB)

Show on map Search Wikipedia NTSB source dataset
Report a problem

Event

NTSB case
LAX00LA129
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Robinson R22B

Aircraft type
Robinson R22
Category
Helicopter
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N7078B
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo Oceanside Municipal Airport (OKB), Oceanside, CA
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Initial climb
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Loss of control in flight
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Preflight planning/preparation, inadequate
  • Pilot in command › Rotor RPM, not maintained
  • Pilot in command › Translational lift, not obtained
  • Pilot in command › Unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area, selected

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

The pilot landed the helicopter in the parking lot where his business was located to drop off a passenger and complete some business. After completing his business he elected to takeoff in a northerly direction along the west side of the building toward a parked van. This placed him a position to depart without a clear takeoff flight path, effectively eliminating his ability to remain in ground effect until entering translational lift. The pilot lifted to a hover, took off, and started his departure to the north. About 50 feet along the takeoff path, at an altitude of approximately 16 feet agl, the pilot noted a decrease in rotor rpm. He realized he would not be able to complete his planned departure and elected to execute a forced landing into the parking lot. He set the helicopter down in the parking lot as he veered to the right to avoid hitting the van. The tail rotor came into contact with the office window, breaking the window, and severely damaging the tail rotor and the tail rotor gearbox.

Probable cause

The pilot's selection of an inadequate takeoff area which precluded his ability to remain in ground effect until entering translational lift and resulted in his failure to maintain main rotor rpm.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX00LA129
Event ID
20001212X20675
Case number
LAX00LA129
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: a1f568fd2c1e17616cce37148fe0049e78bea48125eb99e20b391ac337ef3704; retrieved 2026-09-22T13:03:50.732Z.