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FTW84LA036 · Robinson R22

30 Oct 1983 · Oklahoma City, OK, United States

Robinson R22 · Accident: loss of control in flight while maneuvering

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Event

NTSB case
FTW84LA036
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
Instrument Meteorological Cond

Robinson R22

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
N9074Y
Operator
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
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
Maneuvering · hover
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 › Rotorcraft flight controls, improper use of
  • Pilot in command › Unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area, not identified

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

NTSB narrative

THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE INTENDED TO PRACTICE HOVERING WITHIN THE ARPT BOUNDRIES. ACCORDING TO HIM, AS THE RPM WAS INCREASED TO 100% FOR LIFT-OFF, THE RIGHT SKID CAME OFF THE GROUND, BUT THE LEFT SKID WAS 'EVIDENTLY STUCK IN THE SOFT GROUND.' RIGHT CYCLIC WAS APPLIED AS THE LEFT SKID CAME FREE FROM THE SOFT TERRAIN. THE PLT SAID THAT THIS RESULTED IN AN UNUSUALLY STEEP BANK TO THE RIGHT. LEFT CYCLIC WAS THEN APPLIED IN AN UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE ACFT. THE PLT REPORTED THE ENG RPM THEN BEGAN DECREASING & DIRECTOINAL CONTROL WAS LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER SETTLED BACK TO THE GROUND & ROLLED OVER ON ITS SIDE.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record FTW84LA036
Event ID
20001214X44855
Case number
FTW84LA036
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: 41a657267af7c18c5f3b858b9c0b31a196d1d6749760e0a9b2c3a0064cb15d01; retrieved 2026-09-23T21:09:31.158Z.