Accidents and Incidents
The R22 has had 182 fatal accidents between December 1975 and June 2010 from a total of 1,230 incidents. In late 1981, the R22 became the first (and, to date, only) US helicopter to have its type certificate (FAA #H-10-WE) revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration due to the agency's conclusion that the main rotor blades tended to suffer catastrophic failure in flight. An early fatal accident was traced to a blade delamination, which was, in turn, traced to the Robinson rotor blade sub-contractor. The blades were assembled using special adhesives which were applied, then "set-up" overnight. The sub-contractor's factory had a mosquito problem, and a gasseous "mosquito bomb" interacted with the blade adhesive and degraded its efficacy which led to downstream delamination.
Read more about this topic: Robinson R22
Famous quotes containing the words accidents and/or incidents:
“Depression moods lead, almost invariably, to accidents. But, when they occur, our mood changes again, since the accident shows we can draw the world in our wake, and that we still retain some degree of power even when our spirits are low. A series of accidents creates a positively light-hearted state, out of consideration for this strange power.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)