Skip to content

WPR22LA157

2022-04-16 · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport U42

Current FAA registration · N3297Q

Make / Model
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3931B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain lateral control and terrain clearance while hovering, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action which resulted in a dynamic rollover.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor of the helicopter reported that, while conducting hover training about five ft above ground level, with the student pilot at the flight control, the helicopter began drifting to the right and the right skid contacted the ground. The helicopter subsequently exceeded the critical roll angle and experienced a dynamic rollover to the right. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR22LA157.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.