Accident Summary
On July 27, 2022, about 1345 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R22 helicopter, registration N42WC, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain and rolled onto its right side near Hollywood, Florida. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor was not injured, and the student pilot received minor injuries.
Accident Details
According to the instructor, after completing an engine run-up, he lifted the helicopter and was air-taxiing to the practice area to conduct hover work. Before reaching the practice area, a popping and banging sound was heard from behind the helicopter, followed by an uncommanded right yaw. The instructor attempted to regain control, but the helicopter struck the ground and rolled over onto its right side. The instructor and student pilot exited the helicopter.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the tail rotor assembly had separated. Both tail rotor blades remained attached to the output shaft, which was also attached. The tail rotor blades were bent and showed impact damage. The tail rotor gearbox was fractured, with half of the casing missing. The main rotor blades were bent downward and curled, with multiple kinks and creasing from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Multiple impact signatures were noted on the ground within the rotor diameter.
Further examination of the tail rotor gearbox and tail rotor blades revealed corrosion within both blades. The erosion of the leading edge provided a path for moisture to ingress into the bond joint and deteriorate the adhesive.
Maintenance Records
The owner and the mechanic stated that the helicopter’s maintenance records had been previously damaged by water and had to be reconstructed digitally. The records provided appeared to show that most life-limited parts had been overflown by 374.1 hours. The pilot stated that he had noted damage on the helicopter’s tail rotor blades during a preflight inspection about two weeks before the accident and that the operator had replaced the blades. However, review of the available maintenance records for the helicopter revealed that the serial numbers of the tail rotor blades installed did not match those noted in the maintenance records. The available records also did not document any replacement of the tail rotor blades.