Robinson R44 N452JM

Summary

On 12 November 2008 at about 18:31 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N452JM, operated by D&O Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near San Juan, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 November 2008 at 18:31

Classification

Accident

Location

San Juan, United States

Nearest airport

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci (TJIG)

Coordinates

18.4539, -66.0922

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N452JM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

D&O Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Thomas → San Juan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA051

1 person was seriously injured.

The detachment of the forward left servo control tube upper rod end attachment bolt during a hover due to separation of its retaining nut for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 1.5-hour flight, while hover taxiing, the pilot initiated a turn to the left when the helicopter pitched up and rolled left, striking the main rotor blades against the ground and eventually coming to rest on its left side. The Puerto Rico Port Authority then moved the helicopter and cleaned up all of the scattered helicopter parts and debris prior to the arrival of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector and without any photo documentation of the wreckage. The FAA inspector subsequently took photographs of the wreckage that included the forward left cyclic servo control (push-pull) tube attachment point on the non-rotating swashplate. The control tube was not attached and the swashplate attachment ear had no corresponding attachment hardware. In addition, the control tube rod end was separated from the top of the tube in overload. A search of the wreckage and the crash site by the FAA inspector did not produce the rod end, nor did a subsequent court-ordered search. A detailed examination of the helicopter revealed that the interior bore of the left lateral servo attachment ear had multiple scoring and impact marks consistent with the dimensions and spacing of the attachment bolt threads. The marks also indicated that the rod end attachment bolt had been forcibly pivoted while backing out of the hole, which likely occurred because the retaining nut was missing. During the helicopter's most recent annual inspection the left lateral servo was removed and replaced; however, neither the inspection nor the replacement of the servo required disconnection of the upper servo control tube rod end from the swashplate attachment ear. The pilot's operating handbook required the pilot to ensure that the flight control rod ends were "free without looseness," and that all fasteners were "tight" during preflight inspections. However, it is unknown whether the retaining nut was missing before the flight or if it came off in flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.