Robinson R44 N244HP

Summary

On 13 July 2009 at about 17:15 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N244HP, operated by Dwelle David W, was involved in an accident near Marysville, California, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2009 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Marysville, California, United States

Coordinates

39.2281, -121.3081

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N244HP

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Dwelle David W

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Auburn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09CA339

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from the power line wires.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he was flying the helicopter about 500 feet above the ground and decided to descend to follow a riverbed. While descending to the river, one of the passengers alerted him to the presence of power line wires that obstructed their flight path. The pilot applied full aft cyclic and collective in an attempt to avoid colliding with the wires; however, the tail boom and tail rotor contacted the wires. The impact resulted in the separation of the tail rotor blades and the bottom section of the vertical stabilizer from the helicopter. Following the collision the pilot initiated an autorotation. Upon touchdown, the helicopter bounced and when it touched down again, it was moving sideways to the left and rolled over. The helicopter came to rest on the bank of the river on its left side. Examination of the helicopter revealed substantial damage to the main rotor assembly, the tail rotor assembly, vertical stabilizer, tail boom, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the helicopter prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.