I can understand people having concerns regarding the Robinson (especially when one is probably located not too far from Sywell aerodrome, home of the UK’s mainRobinson distributor), but having read through the ASN reports for Robinson incidents for the past couple of years it would appear that it is not so much the manufacturer at fault, but rather the pilots.
For example, since the beginning of 2010 the ASN lists 80 incidents involving the R22, but 27 of these occurrences happened during a training flight. A majority of the other incidents occurred on or en route to private sites and involved elements of pilot error during manoeuvring such as striking of power lines, hitting ground or trees when mustering livestock, operating in adverse weather conditions, or incorrect application of the flight controls which lead to mechanical failure (e.g. mast bumping,sheared main or tail rotor etc). Indeed, only 14 of these incidents state technical reasons as being the primary cause for forced landings, but this could as easily be attributed to poor maintenance of an aircraft as much as a manufacturing or design fault.
Very few of these occurrences list the PIC as a CPL holder, so one can assume that pretty much all of these incidents, aside from those where an individual was under training, involved PPL rated pilots. It is unfortunate therefore for Robinson that the reputation of their brand has been tarnished by those individuals who had insufficient experience for the conditions and circumstances in which they chose to operate.
Last edited by G-UNYT; 22nd Sep 2012 at 19:52.