# Accident 20040806026089A: Urocop EC130B4, Prairie Dusac, WI, August 6, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 6, 2004, 19:59 local time
- Place: Prairie Dusac, WI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.3258° N, 89.7178° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.3258&lon=-89.7178&mi=10
- Aircraft: N450CM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N450CM-2007-12-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter EC 130 (registry code 8680988, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-ec-130) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2B1 (registry code 60056, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2b1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: UROCOP EC130B4
- Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL2B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,211 total, 148 in this make and model, 154 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04FA214](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA214) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040806026089A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON AUGUST 6, 2004 AT 1959 CDT, A EUROCOPTER EC-130 B4 HELICOPTER, N450CM, REGISTERED TO SIRRUS AVIATION INC. COLLIDED WITH HIGH TENSION POWER LINES THREE MILES NORTH OF PRAIRIE DU SAC, WISCONSIN WHILE FLYING ON A SOUTHEASTERLY HEADING. THE POWER LINES CROSS A BAY THAT FORMS A PART OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER. THE INFLIGHT BREAKUP OF THE AIRCRAFT RESULTED IN LOSS OF CONTROL AND IMPACT WITH A HOME. THE RESULTING FIRE DESTROYED THE REMAINDER OF THE AIRCRAFT AND RESULTED IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE RESIDENCE. OFFICIAL SUNSET TIME WAS 2012 CDT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE COMMERCIAL RATED HELICOPTER PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER, A STUDENT PILOT, WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE PILOT OF N450CM, A BRITISH CITIZEN, WAS ON AN EXTENSIVE UNITED STATES VACATION WITH THE AIRCRAFT AND HAD DEPARTED FT. LAUDERDALE, FL ON JUNE 30TH. THE AUGUST 6TH PORTION OF THE TRIP ORIGINATED AT BILLINGS, MONTANA WITH STOPS AT BELLE FOURCHE, SOUTH DAKOTA, HURON, SOUTH DAKOTA AND ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED ROCHESTER AT APPROXIMATELY 1856 CDT WITH A STATED DESTINATION OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

## 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 CHI04FA214](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA214), Aug 7, 2004: Eurocopter France EC130 B4 (N450CM), Prairie du Sac, WI, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional low-level flight toward the lake and his failure to maintain clearance from the static wire on power transmission lines. Contributing factors were the separation of the…

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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