Robinson R44 N350DM

Summary

On 24 July 2020 at about 22:30 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N350DM was involved in an accident near Whitehall, Maryland, United States. One person was 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

24 July 2020 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Whitehall, Maryland, United States

Coordinates

39.6772, -76.6094

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N350DM

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1997

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Freedom → Whitehall

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA260

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from a known obstacle while landing from a hover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the aerial application helicopter had sprayed hundreds of acres earlier in the day and was positioning the helicopter at another farm site for spraying the following day. He said he selected a landing site next to a grain trailer to remain clear of on-going farm operations. The pilot stated he began his approach at the end of a 7-hour duty day, hovered adjacent to the trailer, and focused his attention on the position of the spray booms as he descended over the landing spot. As he lowered the collective control to complete the landing, the main rotor blades struck the top and side of the grain trailer which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter’s main rotor blades and tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. In the NTSB Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report the pilot offered several safety recommendations to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. Among them, he suggested a "higher level" of aeronautical decision making, improved fatigue awareness, better obstacle awareness, and maintenance of landing area scan and avoidance of "fixation" on any one item or obstacle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.