# Accident 19981204032769A: Robsin R22BETAII, Hachita, NM, December 4, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 4, 1998, 08:45 local time
- Place: Hachita, NM
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.9153° N, 108.3252° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Hachita, NM, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.9153&lon=-108.3252&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8340J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8340J-2000-09-25) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Robinson Helicopter R22 BETA (registry code 7640110, https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r22-beta) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ROBSIN R22BETAII
- Reported engine: LYC O360J2A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,488 total, 538 in this make and model, 160 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99FA024](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA024) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981204032769A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

R-22 HELICOPTER STRUCK POWER LINES AND CRASHED. (.19)ON DECEMBER 4, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1055 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A ROBINSON HELICOPTER R-22 BETA, N8340J, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING IMPACT WITH WIRES NEAR HACHITA, NEW MEXICO.  THE PRIVATE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT IN THE HELICOPTER, WAS FATALLY INJURED.  THE HELICOPTER WAS BEING OPERATED BY TCWH CORPORATION UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE CROSS-COUNTRY PERSONAL FLIGHT.  NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.  ACCORDING TO A SPOKESPERSON FROM THE LOCAL POWER COMPANY, THEY HAD DISPATCHED A MAINTENANCE VEHICLE TO REPAIR A DOWNED POWER LINE.  WHEN THE VEHICLE ARRIVED AT THE SCENE, THEY DISCOVERED THE DOWNED HELICOPTER AND FATALLY INJURED PILOT. (.4)THE PILOT HAD BEEN HERDING CATTLE WITH HIS HELICOPTER, AND WAS RETURNING TO HIS HOME.   AT 0845, HE IMPACTED AN ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION WIRE, WHICH WAS 25 FEET 3 INCHES ABOVE THE GROUND.  THE WIRE WAS ORIENTED 085-265 DEGREES, AND THE PILOT'S FLIGHT PATH WAS 220 DEGREES.  AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE SUN'S ALTITUDE WAS 18 DEGREES ABOVE THE HORIZON, AND ITS AZIMUTH WAS 133 DEGREES EAST OF NORTH.                                                        (-23) AIRCRAFT HIT POWER LINES AND CRASHED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN99FA024](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA024), Dec 4, 1998: Robinson R-22 Beta II (N8340J), Deming, NM, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance of the transmission wire. Factors were the transmission wire, and the glaring sunlight condition.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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