They havent figured it out, former NTSB chairman Christopher Hart told The Times late last year. AD 2021-19-08 requires checking each tail rotor blade (blade) for any crack and removing any cracked blade from service. R44 Clipper II Fixed. Frank Robinson's dream of a small, low-cost helicopter convinced him to resign from the Hughes Helicopter Company in 1973 and found the Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC). by the Securities and Exchange Commission provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts. [1][2] Robinson helicopter will celebrate 50 years in business in June 2023.[3]. The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. documents in the last year, 887 Aviation consultant William Lawrence, a retired Marine Corps colonel and helicopter test pilot and instructor who has testified as a paid expert against Robinson Helicopter Co. in a dozen lawsuits, contends the company willfully ignores safety issues to avoid liability. Mast-bumping often occurs in low-gravity or low G conditions, which can be induced by incorrect pilot inputs or turbulent weather. 14K Followers, 100 Following, 183 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Robinson Helicopter Company (@robinsonheli) Robinson Helicopter Company opened shop in 1973. They continue to offer new technology and to make improvements on their past helicopters. Nov. 13TORRANCE Aviation visionary and South Bay legend Frank Robinson has died at 92. leaving behind six children, a company of over 1,000 employees and a forever changed helicopter industry. 05/01/2023, 258 In 1957, he earned a BSME degree from the University of Washington and later attended graduate school at the University of Wichita. Having been produced since 1990, Robinson have produced over 6,500 R44s to date, making it the most . Since the FAA issued AD 2021-19-08, it was determined that an additional model helicopter and additional blades are affected by the unsafe condition. There are more than 400 dealers and service centers that are located throughout the world. Against the advice of colleagues, Robinson struck out on his own in June 1973. Visit our company website at. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD. Several government agencies there have since banned the use of Robinsons by their employees. that generated this analysis, visit github.com/datadesk/helicopter-accident-analysis. To date it has delivered more than13,000 helicopters and shows no sign of stopping. "And he got in the helicopter and he actually hovered it, which is very impressive. Tragically, those who were in the helicopter now fall among the nearly 600 people that have died in Robinson helicopter crashes since 1982. 51. Robinson died peacefully in his Rolling Hills home on Saturday, Nov. 12. In my near half-century of aviation experience, RHC is the only aircraft manufacturer I have found in the world that does not focus on safety, he wrote in a report filed with a lawsuit stemming from a New Jersey crash. The safety board closed its file on mast-rocking but did not declare the issue resolved. ADDRESSES Crashes of Robinson helicopters have killed 176 people to date. The ATSB recommended that the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) take further action to urge R44 owners to fit bladder-type tanks. james.guo@faa.gov. 650 were here. In early 1995, the NTSB asked the FAA to ground Robinson helicopters to allow for further research and testing. Read more . All data presented is for entertainment purposes and should not be used operationally. Spidertacks and Black Widow Helicopters Announce Partnership, MD Helicopters Announces Supplier Agreements Bolstering Parts Availability, Could Surveillance Drones Save the Army Chopper? Robinson R44: The Best Selling Civilian Helicopter Yet! He also argued that the vast majority of Robinson accidents are the fault of pilots not the machine and that many are students or hobbyists with little time at the controls. Robinson Helicopter Company - Torrance, California is the world's leading manufacturer of civil helicopters. The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposal. R44 helicopters that were manufactured before December of 2010, as well as all R22 helicopters, have fuel tanks that are more susceptible to rupturing than other fuel tanks. He went on to work in engineering at the Cessna Aircraft Company, McCulloch Motor Company, Kaman Aircraft, Bell Helicopter and Hughes Helicopter Company. The R22 would eventually claim world speed and altitude records for its class. When people say that ours have more accidents than the others, well, ours are not being flown by professional people, Robinson said. Robinson Helicopter is known for their commitment to R&D. Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC) - Helipoland.com [19], An accident investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) in March 2013 found, after analyzing historical data, that a significantly higher proportion of R44 aircraft (12%) caught fire after crashing, compared to accidents involving other types of piston-engine helicopters (7%). To learn more about the methodology and review the computer code Follow the instructions for submitting comments. The Robinson Helicopter Company, based at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California, is a manufacturer of civilian helicopters. That is an average of 1.6 deadly crashes per 100,000 hours flown, a rate nearly 50% higher than that of the other dozen most common civilian models. Tail rotor direction of rotation on the R44 is reversed compared to the R22 for improved yaw control authority. AD 2021-19-08 also requires removing all affected blades from service and prohibits installing any affected blade on any helicopter. This feature is not available for this document. has no substantive legal effect. That image stuck with Robinson and drove the course of his career and life. Fax: The street address for Docket Operations is listed above. About the Federal Register "If you asked Frank who he is, the first thing he would tell you is he's an engineer," said Kurt. When the answer is, We dont keep databases because every time something goes wrong we fix it, that doesnt answer the question of just what is the story, what is going on here? said Hart, the former NTSB chairman. [21], On 19 February 2015, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority issued an Airworthiness Directive grounding 80 of the country's R44 helicopters after two people were killed in an accident traced to a particular type of main rotor blade, the P/N C016-7 or Dash 7, which a preliminary investigation determined had failed in flight. Working at Robinson Helicopter Company in Torrance, CA - Indeed by searching for and locating Docket No. Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. In all, Robinson has made more than 12,000 helicopters, with at least 60% of recent sales going to foreign buyers. The CAA left the Airworthiness Directive requiring repetitive inspections in place, however. The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 432 helicopters of U.S. registry. james.guo@faa.gov. He planned to commute to work in his R44. "That's just amazing to me. Robinson Helicopter Company (@robinsonheli) - Instagram Robinson Helicopter Company, Inc. Company Profile | Torrance, CA Robinson would also look close to home for key staff. He really did have a true love of the industry. Robinson Helicopter Founder Frank Robinson Dies at 92 Robinson Helicopter Company - ideamensch The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-19-08, which applies to certain Robinson Helicopter Company (Robinson) Model R44 and R44 II helicopters. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per work-hour. documents in the last year, 153 These can be useful The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend the proposal because of those comments. Robinson helicopters use a patented design for their main rotor, with a triple-hinged rotor assembly "teetering" atop an extended mast. 07/12/2022 at 8:45 am. Its been a really good partnership, said Kurt. Robinson was among the first North American aerospace firms to be awarded ISO 9001 certification for helicopter design . Airworthiness Directives; Robinson Helicopter Company Helicopters Revenues reached $23.5 million in 1988, when the company sold 204 units. Robinson released its first model, the R22, in the late 1970s, and it released the R44 in 1993. Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 39 as follows: 1. [4] Production in 2014 dropped to 329 aircraft. Those helicopters should have all been grounded and there should have been a giant red flag and a recall.. Since the turn of the century, 165 people have been killed in the United States when they were involved in crashes with Robinson helicopters. The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate. Take the case of Jim Bechler, an Orange County attorney who had piloted Robinson helicopters for more than 30 years and bought a new R44 in 2008. In 2010, the company once again expanded its line with the five-seat turbine-powered R66 helicopter. Robinson Helicopter Company is a manufacturer of helicopters. Sales plunged to just 64 units in 1983. Robinson spent 16 years trying to convince his aerospace employers that such a market even existed. It was viewed 11 times while on Public Inspection. daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial (4) For helicopters identified in paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) of this AD, within 6 months after the effective date of this AD, remove from service any blade identified in paragraph (c)(2) or (3) of this AD, as applicable to your model helicopter. Neither was making the helicopter for the masses that he envisioned. The compliance date was later moved to 30 April 2013. The company reported 1 million flight hours for its R66 Turbine fleet in autumn 2019, and it delivered R66 serial number 1000 in summer 2020. He later worked on rotorcraft research for manufacturers including McCulloch Motor Company, Kaman Aircraft, Bell Helicopter, and, finally, Hughes Aircraft Company, which he joined in 1969. Many of the lawsuits were resolved with confidential settlements. In each model, Robinson played an integral role in the engineering and development. The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive (AD) action by August 29, 2022. It was so popular that he went on to build a specialized newscopter version as well as a police helicopter. The company president, Kurt Robinson, contested his helicopters place atop The Times accident-rate ranking. AD 2021-19-08 requires checking each blade for any crack and removing any cracked blade from service. While California's giant military aerospace firms idled plants after the fall of the Soviet Union, Robinson Helicopter was thriving. In 2015, Robinson produces one R22, four or five R44s, and one or two R66s per week, and has contracted with Rolls-Royce to supply 100 RR300 turbines per year for 10 years for the R66. AD 2021-19-08 also requires removing all affected blades from service and prohibits installing any affected blade on any helicopter. Robinson said some R44s with all-aluminum tanks continue to fly, despite his companys best efforts to urge owners to retrofit them. https://www.regulations.gov, informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Its one thing to sit on the sideline and say, Youve got to improve that, Robinson said. He financed his education at the University of Washington by working on cargo ships, reports Forbes; thus, he did not graduate until he was 27. This proposed AD would require the same actions as AD 2021-19-08 and would add certain Robinson Model R66 helicopters to the applicability and add additional part-numbered and serial-numbered blades to the applicability. The FAA issued AD 2021-19-08, Amendment 39-21726 (86 FR 49915, September 7, 2021) (AD 2021-19-08), for Robinson Model R44 and R44 II helicopters with a blade part number (P/N) C029-3 with serial number (S/N) 9410 through 9909 inclusive, installed. Aviation was in his blood.". His legacy was to develop a low-cost reliable helicopter, that was more affordable, that more people could own in order to expand the industry, said Kurt. The prototype was then sold to a flight school, a market he told the Los Angeles Times he had not even considered when he began to develop the aircraft. The helicopter broke apart in midair so suddenly it interrupted the pilot in midsentence. Robinson is one of the first aviation companies in North America to achieve ISO 9001 certification for helicopter design, production and service. Today, Robinson Helicopter Company are famous for producing some of the most popular helicopters ever. In contrast, the Bell Jet Ranger, a five-seat, turbine-powered helicopter, cost $600,000. TORRANCE Aviation visionary and South Bay legend Frank Robinson has died at 92. leaving behind six children, a company of over 1,000 employees and a forever changed helicopter industry. All rights reserved. Robinson R44 - Aviation Consumer Document Drafting Handbook Frank Robinson told American Metal Market that $500,000 of this went towards computer-controlled machine tools. Robinson Helicopter Company was founded in 1973 by Frank Robinson, whose vision was to produce the world's highest quality, most reliable helicopters in the most efficient, cost effective way . Helicopter manufacturer in the United States, New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission, "Robinson Helicopter celebrating 50 years", "Robinson Boosts Production as Sales Surge, Strikes Deal for 1,000 Rolls-Royce Turboshafts", "Robinson Tri-Hinge Rotor Head R22 Helicopter", "Final Report, Aviation Inquiry AO-2014-006, Robinson R44 II, ZK-HBQ, mast-bump and in-flight break-up, Kahurangi National Park, 7 October 2014", "TAIC publishes interim report on July 2018 fatal Robinson R44 helicopter accident over Lake Wanaka", "Danger spins from the sky: The Robinson R44, the world's best-selling civilian helicopter, has a long history of deadly crashes", "Robinson helicopters: mast bumping accidents in NZ", "Lawsuit Claims Robinson Defects Caused Fatal 2016 Crash in Arizona", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robinson_Helicopter_Company&oldid=1143572045, Helicopter manufacturers of the United States, Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 March 2023, at 15:44. The agency will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact received about this proposed AD. Initial financing was in the $2 to $3 million range. We intend to go on for many, many more years, so hes left a real legacy. documents in the last year, 37 The main problem with these fuel tanks is that in July of 2006, Robinson Helicopter Company released Safety Notice 40, which encouraged pilots and occupants to wear fireproof helmets, gloves, and suits. documents in the last year, 931 The R22's simple design, easy maintenance and low . offers a preview of documents scheduled to appear in the next day's How The Robinson R66 Became The Most Popular Dangerous Helicopter After breaking even for a couple of years, Robinson Helicopter turned its first profit in 1987. Employment would soon pass 400 workers. And if we branch out from the R44 model, the statistics are even worse. Only official editions of the He earned a degree in mechanical engineering and then spent 16 years working for aircraft manufacturers, including major helicopter makers Bell and Hughes. Robinson was generally successful in winning lawsuits, having them dismissed, or settling them for reasonable amounts. corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. She formerly worked as the Torrance/Carson reporter for the Daily Breeze and as a city hall reporter for the Santa Monica Daily Press. But the following year, at age 80, Robinson did retire from the iconic helicopter company he founded in 1973, turning control over to his son, Kurt. This regulation is within the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on products identified in this rulemaking action. The company is based in Torrance, California at Zamperini Field. An overflowing order book called for a major expansion of the Torrance plant. Kurt Robinson said it took until 2009 to develop a suitable bladder for his helicopters, disputing allegations in wrongful-death lawsuits that the company could have acted sooner. They put people in the air who otherwise would not be able to afford to fly helicopters or buy helicopters, said Ilyas Akbari, a Los Angeles aviation attorney whose firm has brought about a dozen lawsuits alleging that design defects make Robinsons unforgiving of pilot mistakes and inherently unsafe. Federal Register. edition of the Federal Register. In Southern California, three R44s have crashed since January 2017, killing three people and injuring six others, NTSB records show. Danger spins from the sky: The Robinson R44, the world's best-selling Robinson began taking orders for the R44 in March 1992 at $235,000 for a fully equipped model. Robinson produces three models - the two-seat R22, the four-seat R44, both of which use Lycoming piston engines, and the five-seat R66, which uses a turbine engine. But Robinson continues to mass-produce nonetheless, and it does so without having to make many changes to its flawed helicopters. Adding the following new airworthiness directive: Robinson Helicopter Company: Rather than modify its helicopters to reduce the risk of post-crash fires, Robinson advised pilots and passengers wear protective suits. The FAA Is Under Pressure to Ground Robinson Helicopter,", Flint, Jerry, "The Bird Man of Torrance,", "Foreign Helicopter Giants Vie for Chinese Market,", "Frank Robinson Donates $1 Million to Helicopter Museum,", Jones, Sam L., "Robinson Maintains Its Niche for Piston-Powered 'Copters,", Lambert, Mark, "Civil Helicopters; 1984 Is the Year of Change,", ------, "Hard Times, But Some Hope for the Helicopter Men,", Lewis, Paul, "Annual Sales: Output Slumps as Economies Slow,", Morris, John, "Little Growth Forecast for Helicopter Deliveries,", Pae, Peter, "Flying High with Modest Venture; Robinson Becomes Top-Selling Maker of Civilian Copters by Sticking to Its Mom-and-Pop Origins,", Parke, Robert B., "FAA Limits Robinson Flight Operations,", Phillips, Edward H., "NTSB Urges FAA to Ground R22/R44 Helicopters,", ------, "Robinson, Federal Agencies at Odds Over R44, R22 Issues,", ------, "R22 Main Rotor Focus of NTSB Report,", "Robinson Helicopter: The Discipline of the Marketplace,", Sarsfield, Kate, "Hydraulic Controls Prove Big Hit for R44 Sales,", ------, "Order Surge Fuels Robinson's Plans for Expansion,", ------, "Robinson Considers New Engine for Popular R44,", Scott, William B., "Reliability, Low Operating Costs Key to Robinson R-44 Sales,", Smith, Bruce A., "Robinson Helicopter's R44 to Offer Greater Capacity, Speed Than R22,", Sweetman, Bill, "US Manufacturers Get Their House in Order,", Swertlow, Frank, "Choppers on the Cheap,", Vartabedian, Ralph, "Low-Cost Copter Builder Tops Sales of Big-Name Rivals,", ------, "Robinson Helicopters Taking Off,", Wastnage, Justin, "Upgraded Raven Goes on Sale,". From our office in Chicago, Illinois we help injured victims throughout Illinois, the United States and in some cases, internationally. [5], Robinson has carried out ground run testing with an aircraft diesel engine that could replace its Lycoming IO-540 avgas engine. Ten years later they introduced the R44 Raven II, which had an advanced engine, as well as an improved 28-volt electrical system. Robinson moved to a new 260,000-square-foot plant in July 1994. Robinson founded the Robinson Helicopter Company out of his Palos Verdes home in 1973 and developed the first R22 prototype at the Torrance Airport. More than 600 people have perished in Robinson crashes around the world since 1982. ", "Nobody could show him how to do it, he just had to do it.". The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type designs. including any personal information you provide. At least 65 wrongful-death and product liability lawsuits have been filed across the country since then, accusing Robinson of concealing or willfully ignoring safety issues and dodging accountability allegations the company denies. [3] In January 2000, Robinson introduced the Raven with hydraulically assisted controls[4] and adjustable pedals. "He was a very determined person who didn't accept no; whenever he was faced with a challenge he found a way to push on," Kurt said. A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Robinson pilots in deadly crashes had tallied a median of 1,017 flight hours, the least of any major helicopter maker. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the Not the president of Robinson Helicopter, not the founder, he was an engineer. 2022-14830 Filed 7-12-22; 8:45 am], updated on 4:15 PM on Monday, May 1, 2023, updated on 8:45 AM on Monday, May 1, 2023. This check is an exception to the FAA's standard maintenance regulations. AD 2021-19-08 requires checking each tail rotor blade (blade) for any crack and removing any cracked blade from service. Robinson Helicopter Company Profile - Office Locations - Craft on on Monday thru Friday. This proposed AD would also continue to require, before further flight, removing from service any cracked blade and would prohibit installing the affected blades on any helicopter. It produces a greater number of civil helicopters per year than any other manufacturer, and 80 percent of those made in the United States. The cause has yet to be determined, but the type of helicopter is well known to accident investigators: the Robinson R44. Robinson Helicopter Company is the leading manufacturer of light piston-engine helicopters. He developed his fascination with helicopters at the tender age of 9 when he saw a photo in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of Igor Sikorsky hovering his VS300 Prototype helicopter. . (The R44, which featured new hydraulic controls after 1999, was then priced around $300,000.) [7] Several Robinson helicopters have been destroyed in incidents where mast bumping was determined to have occurred. Oh, man, were they lucky.. The FAA reviewed Robinson R44 Service Bulletin SB-108, dated June 30, 2021. (3) AMOCs approved previously for AD 2021-19-08 are approved as AMOCs for the corresponding requirements in paragraph (g) of this AD. These were eventually attributed to pilot error. Instead of sharing the report with pilots, owners or the FAA, the company argued in legal proceedings that it contained proprietary information. No doubt, Robinsons flippant record-keeping practices play a role in its ability to continue to avoid any real ramifications for its manufacturing and design practices. His family settled out of court with the company. This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the Robinson was also a major figures of the Torrance and Palos Verdes communities, and played an integral role in putting Torrances aviation industry on the map. It has an enclosed cabin with two rows of side-by-side seating for a pilot and three passengers. include documents scheduled for later issues, at the request Helicopters generally share a basic design: A main rotor system attached to a vertical drive shaft, or mast, provides the lift and thrust. When the vibration started, I looked in to check the gauges, but by that time the vibration was so bad I could not read them, Wells recalled. Robinson continued to improve its products. They have recently released an autopilot for helicopters, as well as glass avionics. . ", Visit Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. at https://www.dailybreeze.com/. In 2010, the company once again expanded its line with the five-seat turbine-powered R66 helicopter. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Wells, then 57, broke more than 60 bones and spent six weeks in a coma. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to James Guo, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe Section, Los Angeles ACO Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, FAA, 3960 Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, CA 90712; telephone (562) 627-5357; email