Recent Accidents & Incidents

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The rotorcraft accidents and incidents listed below occurred from Feb. 1, 2022, to Apr. 30, 2022.

The accident details shown are preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. All information was obtained through the official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) website, unless otherwise noted. There, you can learn more details about each event.

February 2022

Hughes 369HS

Panama City, Panama
Feb. 7, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA099
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Hiller UH-12E4

Shrewsbury, PA, USA
Feb. 9, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA118
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

Hughes 369D

Bel Air, MD, USA
Feb. 9, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA117
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Positioning flight
The pilot performed emergency descent after engine chip light illuminated followed by a grinding noise and smoke in the cockpit. Shortly before landing, the engine failed, resulting in airframe and rotor damage during touchdown.

Bell 206

Eldorado, IL, USA
Feb. 11, 2022 | NTSB CEN22LA122
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Air-taxi flight
No description available.

Garlick UH-1H

Devonport, Australia
Feb. 14, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA103
Injuries unknown, fatalities unknown | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Bell UH-1H

Coalinga, CA, USA
Feb. 16, 2022 | NTSB WPR22FA098
0 injuries, 1 fatality | Agricultural flight
During transit after completion of an aerial application flight, helicopter impacted terrain for unknown reasons and was destroyed.

Robinson R44 II

White Plains, NY, USA
Feb. 17, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA135
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Positioning flight
No description available.

MD 500N

Newport Beach, CA, USA
Feb. 19, 2022 | NTSB WPR22FA101
1 injury, 1 fatality | Law enforcement flight
Pilot entered a right orbit to support police activity below. The pilot then reported experiencing an uncontrollable right yaw and descent before impacting water, destroying the aircraft. The pilot egressed but one crew member suffered fatal injuries.

Robinson R44

Miami Beach, FL, USA
Feb. 19, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA131
3 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter was transiting along the shoreline when the pilot reported losing power and performed an autorotative descent to shallow water.

Sikorsky S-61N

Kekaha, HI, USA
Feb. 22, 2022 | NTSB ANC22FA018
0 injuries, 4 fatalities | External-load flight
Helicopter impacted terrain for unknown reasons and was destroyed during a post-crash fire.

Robinson R22

Bilinga, Australia
Feb. 26, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA110
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Robinson R44

South Goulburn Island Airport, Australia
Feb. 28, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA111
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Flight type unknown
No description available.

March 2022

Robinson R22

Fallston, MD, USA
Mar. 1, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA140
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Instructional flight
No description available.

Sikorsky S-92A

Plymouth, England
Mar. 4, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA117
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Air ambulance flight
No description available.

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH MBB/BK 117 C-2

Abingdon, VA, USA
Mar. 6, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA145
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Public aircraft
During an attempted landing to a platform dolly, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and landed hard on the adjacent ramp, resulting in significant damage to the airframe and rotors.

Sikorsky S-76D

Texarkana, AR, USA
Mar. 12, 2022 | NTSB ANC22FA018
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Air taxi flight
No description available.

Eurocopter AS350 BA

Valdez, AK, USA
Mar. 15, 2022 | NTSB ANC22LA023
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Air taxi flight
No description available.

Hughes 500D

De Soto, IA, USA
Mar. 17, 2022 | NTSB CEN22LA146
1 injury, 0 fatalities | External-load flight
Helicopter sustained partial power loss and the pilot entered an autorotation. The aircraft impacted terrain before coming to rest on its right side.

MD Helicopters MD 369

Loxahatchee, FL, USA
Mar. 18, 2022 | NTSB ERA22FA160
0 injuries, 2 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter was destroyed after impacting power lines at 80 ft.

Eurocopter AS 332L1

Azusa, CA, USA
Mar. 19, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA125
6 injuries, 0 fatalities | Law enforcement flight
During attempted landing to an unimproved area, the flight crew encountered brownout conditions and the main rotor struck a tree before the helicopter settled to the ground and rolled onto its left side.

Robinson R44 II

Howe, ID, USA
Mar. 22, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA132
3 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

American Autogyro SparrowHawk III

Lubbock, TX, USA
Mar. 23, 2022 | NTSB CEN22LA150
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

Robinson R44

Rowlett, TX, USA
Mar. 25, 2022 | NTSB CEN22FA151
0 injuries, 2 fatalities | Instructional flight
Tail boom separated from the helicopter due to suspected rotor blade impact, resulting in a loss of control and near vertical descent before terrain impact.

Robinson R22 Beta

Garnett, KS, USA
Mar. 26, 2022 | NTSB CEN22LA158
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

April 2022

Bell OH-58A

Merced, CA, USA
Apr. 1, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA140
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
No description available.

Hughes 269A

Fort White, FL, USA
Apr. 2, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA180
2 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

Leonardo AW139

Iwaizumi, Japan
Apr. 3, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA153
Injuries unknown, fatalities unknown | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Bell 206

Adaminaby, Australia
Apr. 4, 2022 | NTSB GAA22WA154
Injuries unknown, fatalities unknown | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Robinson R22

Seymour, TX, USA
Apr. 5, 2022 | NTSB CEN22LA167
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

Robinson R22

Phoenix, AZ, USA
Apr. 6, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA146
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Instructional flight
No description available.

Robinson R44 II

Calhoun, GA, USA
Apr. 12, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA188
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
No description available.

Robinson R22 Beta

Gila Bend, AZ, USA
Apr. 15, 2022 | NTSB ANC22FA030
0 injuries, 1 fatality | Instructional flight
During solo student pilot’s approach, helicopter entered into uncontrolled descent and impacted terrain short of the runway.

Eurocopter AS350 B3

Deer Valley, AZ, USA
Apr. 16, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA154
2 injuries, 0 fatalities | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Robinson R44 II

Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Apr. 16, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA157
2 injuries, 0 fatalities | Instructional flight
No description available.

Bell 206B

Cedar Key, FL, USA
Apr. 18, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA192
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
No description available.

Bell 206

Lake Apopka, FL, USA
Apr. 26, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA206
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
No description available.

Bell 429

Elba, NY, USA
Apr. 26, 2022 | NTSB ERA22FA207
0 injuries, 2 fatalities | Instructional flight
Tail boom separated from helicopter due to suspected rotor-blade impact, resulting in loss of control and terrain impact.

Garlick OH-58A+

Oakland, FL, USA
Apr. 26, 2022 | NTSB ERA22LA209
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
No description available.

Robinson R44 II

Folsom, NM, USA
Apr. 28, 2022 | NTSB WPR22LA168
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
No description available.