Guimbal CABRI N572MD

Summary

On 4 May 2019 at about 16:11 local time, a Guimbal CABRI registered N572MD, operated by Monumental Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Kent Island, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 May 2019 at 16:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Kent Island, Maryland, United States

Coordinates

38.8158, -76.3831

Aircraft

Guimbal CABRI

Registration

N572MD

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

Monumental Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Meade(Odenton) → Fort Meade(Odenton)

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19FA163

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an inadvertent descent into the water. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to conduct the flight at a low altitude without sufficient cues to aid in the perception of attitude and altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated pilot and passenger intended to fly the helicopter, which was not equipped for instrument flight, in order to photograph the passenger's family member fishing, despite a forecast of instrument meteorological conditions. The helicopter flew for about 11 minutes, making several left and right turns in the vicinity of where the family member was fishing at an altitude of about 175 ft. The passenger was texting the family member, and at one point asked "Can you see us? We are hitting the wall that we can't fly through." The family member responded, "not really," and the passenger sent one last text message stating, "Give me one more [GPS] pin to try." After the last message, the helicopter began to fly south over water and away from land and any natural horizon. The wreckage was located in the water about 1.5 miles from the shoreline. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomaly. Analyses of weather information, witness statements, and photographs taken by the passenger were consistent with conditions of limited visibility and a lack of a visible horizon. In these limited visibility conditions, especially when flying away from shore, the pilot's workload would have increased as he divided his attention between maintaining control of the helicopter and an adequate altitude above the water using poor visual cues and positioning of the helicopter laterally while looking for the fishing vessel. These conditions were conducive to the both the development of spatial disorientation and loss of control, or an inadvertent descent into the water (due to distraction or a visual illusion). The ability of the pilot to detect any loss of control or a trajectory towards the water was significantly reduced as a result of the extremely low altitude in which the flight over water was conducted, the low visibility, the lack of instruments on board to allow for instrument flight, and his lack of instrument training and experience.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.