What happened
On October 21, 2025, at approximately 11:08 CDT, a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter, registration N74583, was involved in an accident near Springfield, Missouri. The aircraft was being operated by So Fly Flight Training Academy, LLC, for a Part 91 instructional flight.
The flight instructor and the student pilot had originally planned a cross-country flight but canceled it due to a forecast of high winds. They instead opted to perform training maneuvers at the Downtown Airport (3DW) to ensure they could terminate the flight if wind limits were exceeded. The crew intended to adhere to the limitations in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, which prohibit flight when surface winds exceed 25 knots or when gust spreads exceed 15 knots.
After completing an initial training session and refueling, the crew began practicing autorotations from 1,000 feet agl. Following several successful 30° and 60° entry autorotations, the crew attempted 90° entry autorotations. During the final autorotation, after the engine power was set to idle, the flight instructor attempted to assist the student by providing verbal steering instructions and a physical nudge to the cyclic.
The helicopter drifted south of the runway centerline toward a 240° heading. The flight instructor reported an inability to turn the aircraft to the right as it drifted toward a public sports complex. The instructor initiated a flare, and the helicopter impacted a grass field near trees, coming to rest on its left side. The accident resulted in 2 serious injuries and 0 fatalities.
The investigation
The helicopter, which had a weight of approximately 1,341 lbs at the time of the accident, sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor system, tail cone, empennage, and tail rotor system. The aircraft is not equipped with a hydraulic system, using push-pull tubes and bell cranks for flight control actuation.
Meteorological data from the Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) showed that at 10:52, winds were from 310° at 11 knots, gusting to 21 knots. A review of the weather data indicated the presence of wind shear of approximately 15 knots in the lowest 2,000 feet agl near the airport around the time of the accident.