Incident Details
On June 28, 2019, at 1132 Central Daylight Time, a Robinson R-22 Beta helicopter, registration N26498, impacted terrain near Danbury, Texas. The helicopter was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 pollination flight and was registered to a corporation. The commercial pilot was not injured, but the helicopter sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site and along the route of flight.
Pilot Report
According to the pilot's report to the FAA, during pollination activities, the "clutch" warning light illuminated and would not extinguish. The pilot perceived a loss of power and decided to land in a field. He reported that after the clutch light illuminated, the helicopter began losing rotor speed, and he responded by increasing engine power. The pilot executed a vertical landing without splitting the skids; however, main rotor speed decayed sufficiently that one main rotor blade drooped and struck the tail cone, resulting in substantial damage.
In a separate account to the mechanic selected for repairs, the pilot stated that he was flying low over the agricultural field when the "GOV" (governor) caution light illuminated, shortly followed by the clutch light. He felt a loss of rotor speed and rolled on engine power to compensate.
Mechanic Examination
A mechanic examined the helicopter following the incident. The actuator engaged and disengaged normally, the drive belts were in good condition, and the clutch rotated freely. The governor warning light remained illuminated regardless of the switch position. The mechanic traced the issue to a faulty electrical relay that caused the governor light to stay on. He confirmed that the faulty relay would only cause the light to illuminate and would not affect governor operation. When electrical power was applied, the governor functioned normally. No other anomalies were found with the helicopter.