Robinson R-22B accident near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, March 23, 2006
On March 23, 2006 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Robinson R-22B (helicopter), registered N203DH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Kona International Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's delayed remedial action while conducting hover practice with a student pilot, which resulted in the helicopter contacting the ground and rolling over. A factor contributing to the accident was an inadvertent dynamic roll over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 2006 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Kailua-Kona, Hawaii · Kona International Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R-22B · all R-22Bs on the register
- Registration
- N203DH · registry record · serial 2212
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated flight instructor was providing hovering instruction to a student in a skid-equipped helicopter under Title 14, CFR Part 91. The helicopter began to settle while drifting to the left, and the left skid contacted the ground, which resulted in a dynamic roll over. The helicopter rolled onto its left side and received structural damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor blades. The student pilot had received about 3 hours of initial helicopter instruction at the time of the accident. In his written statement to the NTSB, the flight instructor noted that the accident could have been prevented by maintaining a higher hover altitude, and by earlier intervention to the student's deviations.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,059 hours in all; 925 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 1,005 as pilot in command; 826 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 3 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,370 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHKO Kailua HI at 5:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 6:45 pm from PHKO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.