LAX02FA173 · Robinson R22 Beta
Robinson R22 Beta · Accident: in flight collision with object en route
From Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) to San Luis County Regional Airport (SBP)
Event
- NTSB case
- LAX02FA173
- 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
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- 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 R22 Beta
- 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
- N7194J
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), Mammoth Lakes, CATo San Luis County Regional Airport (SBP), San Luis Obispo, 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
- En route · climb to cruise
- 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
- In flight collision with object
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Tree(s)
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Cause areas
- Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained
- Pilot in command › In-flight planning/decision, poor
Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The helicopter impacted trees and the rising mountainous terrain approximately 7.8 miles from the airport. Prior to departure, the helicopter's main and auxiliary fuel tanks were topped off with fuel. Witnesses observed the pilot and passenger board the helicopter, and reported that the engine start was normal. The engine idled for two minutes, the rpm increased to "full power". The helicopter lifted off the ground "approximately 3 to 4 feet, and then set down very controlled." The engine rpm decreased for a few seconds, then back to "full power". The helicopter lifted off the ground, turned to the west, and moved about 30 feet to "the yellow X (a closed taxiway), and set down very hard." One witness stated that "[it] seemed like they had difficulty trying to get off the ground." After a few seconds, the helicopter lifted off again dragging the forward portion of the skids on the taxiway, departed to the west and "did not gain a lot of altitude." The maximum allowable gross weight of the helicopter was 1,370 lbs. Considering the occupants, miscellaneous baggage, and full of fuel, the helicopter's gross weight, at the time of departure, was 1,459.25 lbs. The density altitude at the departure airport and the accident site was calculated at 8,702 feet and 10,681 feet, respectively. According to the approved rotorcraft flight manual, the in-ground-effect (IGE) hover ceiling versus gross weight, and the out-of-ground-effect (OGE) hover ceiling versus gross weight performance limits were not available beyond 1,370 lbs. gross weight. The performance specifications had been approved up to the maximum allowable gross weight. The engine was test run on the airframe, and no anomalies or discrepancies were noted.
Probable cause
The pilot's poor decision to continue the flight into the rising mountainous terrain, and subsequent failure to maintain clearance with the trees. Contributing factors were rising mountainous terrain, the high density altitude, and the exceeded weight and balance and performance capability of the helicopter.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record LAX02FA173
- Event ID
- 20020531X00796
- Case number
- LAX02FA173
- 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, coordinates. 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: 4a2388e3236274c364db1a6e358997220700bbd43fc80bd8f6dec22a8bd36ce2; retrieved 2026-09-20T20:01:07.258Z.