NTSB MIA82FA115 — 1982-05-01 · FT. PIERCE, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N90249

Make / Model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19800613
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AC79A0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N90249 Robinson R-22 None

Factual narrative

THE STUDENT PILOT WAS PERFORMING AUTOROTATIONS WITH 180 DEGREE TURNS TERMINATING WITH POWER RECOVERIES. AT ABOUT 200 FEET, AFTER COMPLETION OF THE TURN, THE INSTRUCTOR HEARD A RATTLING NOISE FOLLOWED BY A MEDIUM FREQUENCY VIBRATION. THE INSTRUCTOR TOOK THE CONTROLS AND COMPLETED THE LANDING BUT THE HELICOPTER ROLLED ONTO THE LEFT SIDE WHEN POWER WAS APPLIED TO CUSHION THE TOUCHDOWN. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVESHAFT SEPARATED AT THE FORWARD FLEX COUPLING ATTACHMENT. AS A RESULT OF THIS ACCIDENT THE MANUFACTURER SENT MESSAGES TO ALL KNOWN OPERATORS OF THE AIRCRAFT CALLING FOR REINSPECTION OF THE LONG TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT BEFORE FURTHER FLIGHT. IN ADDITION, THE FACTORY WAS REPORTED TO BE INVOLVED IN A PROGRAM TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS THAT WOULD PERMANENTLY CORRECT THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FAILURES OF THE LONG TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1982_MIA82FA115.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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