Accident to the helicopter Robinson R44 registered F-GPGV on 28/08/2017 at Rouen Vallée de Seine
Collision aviaire avec le RAC lors de la translation vers le parking, perte de contrôle en lacet, collision avec le sol
1 - History of the flight
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, took off from Rouen Vallée de Seine airport around 14:30 for a local flight. On returning to the airport, during forward flight on heading 060° to the usual parking area, the helicopter started yawing to the right, made more than two complete turns, then collided with the ground and rolled onto its right side close to the control tower. The passenger(1)shut down the engine.
The helicopter probably started yawing due to damage to the TR caused by a bird striking one of the blades while in low-speed forward flight to the parking area.
The birdstrike deformed the TR blade which generated a loss of rotor aerodynamic efficiency, causing the pilot to lose yaw control of the helicopter.
The low height and low speed of the helicopter and the suddenness of the event left little choice to the pilot for carrying out the emergency landing.
(1)The passenger holds a private pilot’s licence (aeroplane) and an aircraft mechanic’s licence.