C6/2007L Helicopter accident near Pelkosenniemi 16 September 2007

An accident occurred on Sunday, 16 September 2007 at 14:00 local time when a helicopter landed near Pelkosenniemi village centre. The aircraft involved was a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration OH-HMH. The pilot and the passenger sustained minor injuries. On 18 September 2007, Accident Investigation Board Finland (AIB) appointed investigation commission C6/2007L for this accident. Investigator Ari Huhtala was named Investigator-in-Charge with Investigators Hannu Mäkeläinen and Ilpo Kopra as members of the commission. Kari Siitonen and Juhani Mäkelä, technical assistants of the commission, conducted the technical test and research.

During the final phase of its approach the helicopter drifted through a bush at the edge of the landing area. The aft end of the left skid caught the verge of a ditch, causing the front end of the right skid to make contact with the uneven field. This resulted in a dynamic rollover. The helicopter pivoted around the front right corner and rolled onto its right side.

The investigators believe that the pilot flew an excessively tight landing pattern. Therefore, the helicopter did not stabilize on the final approach. Rather, the helicopter continued on a right sideslip and banked to the right while descending low with relatively high speed. Because of his limited flying experience, the pilot did not have the skills to recover from the situation. The pilot did not manage to level the helicopter. The speed did not decrease enough and this resulted in an unsuccessful landing. He could have aborted the approach and flown a wider landing pattern. At no stage during the approach did the helicopter descend into its own rotor wash in a vortex ring
state. It is the opinion of the investigation commission that the accident was not caused by a technical malfunction or defect.

The investigation commission made no recommendations. The draft investigation report was promulgated for comment to the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority, the owners of the accident helicopter as well as to the pilot and the passenger.

C6/2007L Report (pdf, 0.38 Mt)