WPR13LA003 · Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA
Glacier Aviation Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA · Accident while maneuvering
From Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS) to Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS)
Narrative check · The NTSB narrative appears to contradict this record's location. Values are shown as recorded, not corrected; compare with the narrative.
Event
- NTSB case
- WPR13LA003
- 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
- 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 Helicopter 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
- N80140
- Operator
- Glacier Aviation
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS), Burlington, WATo Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS), Burlington, WA
- 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
- Defining eventThe 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
- Miscellaneous/other
- 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
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
- Personnel issues › Task performance
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that while maneuvering, the helicopter’s clutch caution light illuminated. The pilot initiated a precautionary descent and began to slow the helicopter in an effort to locate a clearing in the trees. The clutch caution light was still on after 10 to 12 seconds, so the pilot instructed his passenger to pull the circuit breaker. The pilot spotted a clearing, and shortly thereafter the low rotor rpm warning light illuminated and the horn sounded. The pilot lowered the collective and headed for a landing spot. About 20 to 30 feet above ground level, the pilot flared the helicopter and used the remaining collective control input the last 3 to 5 feet. The helicopter subsequently landed hard in high brush surrounded by tall trees.
During the postaccident examination, bench testing of the clutch actuator revealed that the actuator operated normally and within specified limitations. Further examination of the actuator motor found no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the illumination of the clutch light could not be determined.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient rotor rpm during a precautionary landing, which resulted in a hard landing.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record WPR13LA003
- Event ID
- 20121005X12006
- Case number
- WPR13LA003
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
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: bb1f7f76b67e4e640f470bf41a6965640a9a4772d8bdf84c5533a8137765cb91; retrieved 2026-09-15T20:05:43.184Z.