FAA: Helicopter lifted off on its own with pilot clinging to side

Florida Keys News - Key West Citizen

Monday, November 30, 2009

FAA: Helicopter lifted off on its own with pilot clinging to side

By Anne-Margaret Swary Citizen Staff

The helicopter that crashed near Robbie's Marina Saturday afternoon reportedly lifted off on its own before crashing into the water, according to both the Federal Aviation Administration and an employee at Robbie's Marina in Islamorada.

The pilot of the helicopter, registered to G S Helicopters Inc. of Islamorada, reportedly made an emergency landing on Indian Key Historic State Park around 2:30 p.m. Saturday because he was experiencing problems with the aircraft, said Kathleen Bergen, communications manager for FAA's Southern Region.

The uninhabited, 10-acre island is located several hundred yards south of U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 78 and includes a large open lot in the center, often referred to as the old town square.

When the pilot got out to inspect the tail rotor, the helicopter reportedly started to lift off on its own, Bergen said.

An employee at Robbie's Marina said the pilot told rescuers that he ran back toward the cockpit and tried to get inside before the helicopter lifted about 50 feet to 70 feet in the air. As he held on to the side, the aircraft's erratic movements knocked him off and he fell, breaking his arm.

The helicopter crashed moments later in about four feet of water near the dock at Indian Key.

The pilot was found laying in shallow water near the edge of the coral surrounding the island.

A boat from Robbie's Marina was dispatched to bring the elderly man, whose name and exact age were unavailable, back to shore, where he was met by emergency personnel and taken to the hospital.

The helicopter, an R22 model manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Co, will be removed from the water by the U.S. Coast Guard, Bergen said. The FAA is investigating.

amswary@keysnews.com

Just to share how the r22

Submitted on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 9:43am

Just to share how the r22 works then don't say anything. First of all if you're ignorant enough to get out of a running helicopter you shouldn't have one or own one. Ruzzel Walsh grand canyon helicopter tours

Who Cares About All of That?

Submitted on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 8:39pm

Was the coral or any seagrass damaged, or were any fish or other marine life hurt? Did it leak any fuel or oil? Let's keep our priorities straight here, people! Geez!!

Hey Pelosi

Submitted on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 12:34pm

This isnt your RC helicopter that you play with. Get your facts straight before you call someone a liar. The collective is not a stick similar to an airplane, a collective stick is on the side of the pilot and goes up and down controlling the up and down movement of the aircraft. The stick in the center similar to an airplane that you refer to is called a "cyclic" stick and controls forward and backward movement. If a helicopter is left running and the collective stick is not locked down and a gust of wind comes along, it could pick it up. I wonder why the pilot would get out of the aircraft with it running and no co-pilot to hold onto the controls? But I wasnt there either and will not pass judgement until the investigators check out the aircraft.

Not Full of Pelosi but there is plenty spread around this story

Submitted on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 8:38am

The R22 has a governor on the throttle/collective. The manufacturer did this because it was very hard for students to maintain rotor RPM with this helicopter (No inertia in the blades); which is a story of itself. BUT, if the collective was not frictioned down and the pilot got out, the collective could have raised by itself (I have seen this happen in the H300 many times!!) once the collective begins to raise then the governor adds fuel to the engine in an attempt to keep the rotor RPM in the green. Granted if he was at flight idle the governor could not increase rotor RPM’s to 100% but it could increase rotor RPM enough that if a prevailing 10 - 15 knot wind was blowing over the rotor system that enough lift could be generated to lift the helicopter. I have flown in the Keys and there is ALWAYS a 10 - 15 knot wind blowing.

If he was standing near the side he might have tried to reach in and push down the collective but by then he would have been hanging on for the “E” ticket ride. I doubt he would have climbed as high as 50 to 70 feet but I am sure if it were me it probably would have sure felt like it.

I would like to see the NTSB report because they will gather information that was not included in the article but with the R22 I would say that it could be possible as wild as it sounds. (This never would have happened in a real piston helicopter like the Bell 47, LOL)

I Remember!

Submitted on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 3:26pm

They barely had enough power to stay airborne! Ahhh, the good old days! See what happens when you get all this new fangled automatic stuff because Johnny can't learn to fly a rotarywing aircraft? LOL!

I’m going to throw down the BS flag on this one.

Submitted on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 5:12am

This reporting stinks on ice!

To create lift, the twist type hand throttle (Very much like a motorcycle’s) has to have torque applied to it. While the collective (Another device, very much like a fighter aircraft’s ‘stick’ designed to control the angle of the rotors) needs to be either pushed forward or drawn back as the rudder pedals are put into play AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Someone's full of Pelosi

WRONG!

Submitted on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 9:46am

If the collective was not locked down it could easily vibrate enough to cause a liftoff. You are not keeping up with the NTSB incident/accident reports. If this pilot was experiencing problems anyway, he may have exited the aircraft in his anxiety to check the tail rotor system for damage without locking down the collective. And, in some cases, collective locks do not work very effectively. Manufacturers warn about the possibility of this type of incident while the aircraft is under power.

Robinson r22

Submitted on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 9:45am

If you have no idea how the r22 works then don't say anything. First of all if you're ignorant enough to get out of a running helicopter you shouldn't have one. Second, in the case of any light helicopter it is affected by any light wind condition and if the rpm is above 40% it will lift, not far, but it will. Lastly, there is something called a governor, if the pilot left this on and too close to 70% then the governor takes over and runs the rpm to 104% without anyone touching it. I could go on and on how this could have been prevented but most won't believe me. If you don't understand you're toy this is what happens. Fly Safe..