NTSB BFO86LA007 — 1985-11-29 · MANASSAS, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N8499B

Make / Model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22
Year of manufacture: 1980 · 5 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19841128
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ABA4DD

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N8499B Robinson R-22 None

Factual narrative

A SIMULATED STRAIGHT IN AUTOROTATION TO RUNWAY 34L WAS ENTERED FROM FINAL APPROACH BY LOWERING THE COLLECTIVE, AND A PWRRECOVERY WAS PLANNED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AUTOROTATION. AT ABOUT 150 FEET AGL, THE THROTTLE WAS ROLLED IN TO MATCH THE ENGINE AND ROTOR NEEDLES, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. THE AUTOROTATION WAS CONTINUED TO THE GROUND, AND THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE TERRAIN ABOUT 100 FEET FROM THE RWY 34L THRESHOLD, BOUNCED A FEW FEET IN THE AIR, ROTATED APPROXIMATELY 80-90 DEGREES TO THE LEFT, AND STRUCK THE GROUND AGAIN, COMING TO REST WITH AN APPROXIMATE 240 DEGREE HEADING.THE TAIL BOOM WAS SEVERED AND THE SKIDS WERE SPREAD. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_BFO86LA007.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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