Flight History
On August 31, 2023, at about 1525 eastern daylight time, a Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta, registration N2356M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kingston, New Jersey. The private pilot, who was receiving flight instruction to upgrade his certificate, was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight.
The pilot had flown about 18 hours with his flight instructor. The accident flight was his second solo flight, intended for practicing pattern work without autorotations, focusing on steep and shallow landing approaches.
According to witnesses and ADS-B data, the pilot took off from Princeton Airport (39N) in Princeton/Rocky Hill, New Jersey, around 1520. He departed the airport traffic pattern, contrary to his instructor's briefing. The instructor later noted that the ground track appeared unusual and inconsistent with their plan.
Shortly after departing the pattern to the east, the helicopter climbed to 1,375 ft msl, then turned left to a north-northwest track of about 325°. After about half a mile, it made a right 180° turn to the south on a track of about 185° for several miles, then made a shallow right turn toward the Millstone River.
An eyewitness on a dam of the river, photographing wildlife, observed the helicopter flying toward her erratically in a steep nose-down attitude about 1,000 ft agl. She took 17 sequential photographs with a high-magnification telephoto lens, which revealed the helicopter spinning counterclockwise for several rotations with aggressive pitch changes and rolls. The main rotor blades then contacted the tail boom, severing the tail rotor assembly into three pieces: the tail rotor blades and gearbox, the stabilizer, and the tail rotor drive shaft.
Selected photographs showed the pilot in the right seat. In one image, his left hand appeared on the collective at an extremely high position, and his left earpiece was down on his neck. Another image showed him hunched forward, right arm visible but hand not clearly on the cyclic, with both earpieces off and sunglasses removed. Subsequent photos showed him bent forward with head on the windscreen, arms pulled up. The severing of the tail boom was captured in photo No. 15.
The helicopter continued descending and came to rest inverted in about 3 ft of water on the shoreline of a tributary.
Pilot Information
The pilot was a 44-year-old Israeli citizen. He held an airline transport pilot certificate with airplane single- and multi-engine land ratings, and a private pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating. He had traveled to the United States to obtain a commercial pilot certificate in helicopters.
Aircraft Information
The last annual inspection of the airframe and engine was completed on January 13, 2023, at a helicopter total time of 7,033.7 hours and engine total time of 4,831.3 hours. This inspection incorporated 50-hour, 100-hour, 300-hour, and 500-hour routine maintenance. Subsequent 50-hour and 100-hour inspections were performed on May 8, June 11, July 14, and August 23, 2023, with no irregularities noted. The helicopter was returned to service as airworthy.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The fuselage, containing the cockpit, engine, transmission, and main rotor blade assembly, came to rest inverted in a water tributary about 3 ft deep, at an elevation of about 15 ft msl, oriented on a heading of about 243°. Miscellaneous debris, including plexiglass, placards, a fire extinguisher, a partial tail rotor blade, and tail boom fragments, were scattered within 300 ft of the main wreckage. The section of the tail boom containing the tail rotor, drive shaft, and tail rotor blade assembly was not located despite extensive searching.
Both main rotor blades remained attached to the rotor head and had impact marks consistent with tail boom contact. The main rotor drive system gearbox was attached, but left and right longitudinal pitch restraints were separated from their stops. One pitch control link was separated due to overload; the opposing link remained attached. Cyclic and collective control continuity was confirmed through push-pull tubes; fractures were consistent with overload. Tail rotor pedals were impact fractured but traced to where the tail boom separated.
Engine drivetrain continuity was confirmed through 720° of manual rotation. The right magneto sparked at all four leads; the left magneto was impact damaged and did not produce spark. Spark plugs showed normal coloration except No. 2 cylinder, which had blue staining. The carburetor bowl was impact separated; the fuel inlet screen was unobstructed. About 3 gallons of aviation fuel (100LL) was drained, with no visible water or contamination. Induction pipes contained blue liquid residue, later identified as likely weathered aviation gasoline.
No preimpact mechanical anomalies were found on the recovered airframe or engine that would have precluded normal flight; however, the missing tail rotor could not be examined.
Medical and Pathological Information
Postmortem toxicology testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory was negative for carboxyhemoglobin, ethanol, and general drugs. An autopsy was not conducted because the pilot's body was transported to Israel. His last FAA aviation medical examination was on February 7, 2023, with no reported medical conditions or medication use, and he was issued a first-class medical certificate without limitation. A medical summary from an Israeli Aeromedical Examiner indicated nothing in his history suggested risk of sudden incapacitation.