NTSB WPR11CA467 — 2011-09-24 · Douglas, Wyoming, United States

Current FAA registration · N3070S

Make / Model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA
Year of manufacture: 2007 · 4 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING O-360-J2A (145 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20070925
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A33BBC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N3070S Robinson R22 Beta None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain yaw control of the helicopter while hover taxiing in gusty wind conditions.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, while hover taxiing downwind, a gust of wind pushed the tail 90 degrees to the left, which forced the helicopter to descend into the pavement. The pilot reported that the front and rear crossover tubes between the left and right landing skid assemblies were bent, and that the tail cone was wrinkled at the fuselage attach points. According to the pilot, while hover taxiing downwind, a gust of wind pushed the tail 90 degrees to the left, which forced the helicopter to descend into the pavement. The pilot reported that the front and rear crossover tubes between the left and right landing skid assemblies were bent, and that the tail cone was wrinkled at the fuselage attach points. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

F Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Contributed to outcome - F
C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Yaw control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_WPR11CA467.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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