Robinson R44 N715SG

Summary

On 6 July 2025 at about 19:00 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N715SG was involved in an accident near Park City, Utah, 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

6 July 2025 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Park City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.5800, -111.5200

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N715SG

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Jordan → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA203

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain rotor rpm during an approach to landing in a mountainous area, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of a helicopter reported that, after performing a series of reconnaissance passes, followed by an out of ground effect hover power check, he decided to fly an approach to a mountain meadow. During the approach to landing, the pilot slowed the descent rate and realized the rotor rpm had decayed rapidly. The pilot lowered the collective and applied forward cyclic to increase airspeed to regain rotor rpm but was unable to recover. He then lowered the collective to enter an autorotation. Upon touchdown, the tail skid struck the ground, the helicopter pitched forward, and the main rotor impacted terrain. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The pilot reported no mechanical issues with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.