Robinson R-22 Beta accident near Spring, Texas, April 25, 2007
On April 25, 2007 at about 8:34 pm local time, a Robinson R-22 Beta (helicopter), registered N7534S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Spring, Texas (David Wayne Hooks 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 student pilot's improper use of the flight controls resulting in dynamic rollover. Contributing factors were the delayed remedial action by the flight instructor and the uneven, muddy terrain conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 25, 2007 · about 8:34 pm local time
- Place
- Spring, Texas · David Wayne Hooks · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R-22 Beta · all R-22 Betas on the register
- Registration
- N7534S · no longer on the register · serial 3657
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and came to rest on its left side while attempting to take off. The flight instructor reported in the NTSB Form 6120.1 (Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report) that the instructional flight comprised of practice autorotations and rapid decelerations or quick-stops. The practice area where these maneuvers were performed was reported by the flight instructor as "a grassy, dirt area with occasional dirt mounds raising approximately 1 and 1/2 feet above the ground". The ground was also wet and muddy due to thunderstorms having passed through the area prior to the flight. While executing the third quick-stop maneuver, the student pilot receiving instruction performed a normal takeoff from a 3-foot hover. The helicopter assumed a pronounced nose low attitude while accelerating during takeoff and the toe of the right landing gear skid simultaneously contacted a dirt mound. The student attempted to correct the right yawing condition by over-controlling to the left, while the flight instructor compensated by raising the collective and applying right cyclic. The flight instructor concluded that "by the time the inputs were felt the helicopter had reached its critical angle and rolled [to the] left side." The helicopter sustained structural damage to the main rotor, fuselage, tail boom, and tail rotor. The flight instructor and student pilot were able to exit the helicopter unassisted and neither was injured. At the time of the accident the flight instructor reported having accumulated 116 hours as a flight instructor and the student had accumulated a total of 24 hours in helicopters. The weather at the accident site was reported as calm winds, 10 miles visibility, a broken ceiling at 2,100 feet, and a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.
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; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 423 hours in all; 423 in this make and model; 116 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 312 as pilot in command; 116 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 151 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 52 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,329 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,370 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KDWH Spring TX at 8:00 pm
- Destination: KDWH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17R, 7,009 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from KDWH
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.