# Accident 20110709014499A: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, Rising Sun, IN, July 9, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 9, 2011, 09:25 local time
- Place: Rising Sun, IN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.9164° N, 84.8850° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9164&lon=-84.8850&mi=10
- Aircraft: N42333, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N42333-2017-10-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Robinson Helicopter R44 II (registry code 7640122, https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r44-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 (registry code 41899, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-ae1a5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 II
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540-AE1A5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 566 total, 54 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN11FA468](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11FA468) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110709014499A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 9, 2011, R-44 HELICOPTER, N42333, WAS FLYING NORTHWESTBOUND TOWARDS ANDERSON, INDIANA FROM GEORGETOWN, KENTUCKY AT 1500 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.  THE FLIGHT WAS IN RADAR CONTACT AND RECEIVING VFR SERVICES FROM CINCINNATI APPROACH CONTROL.  AT  0920 LOCAL TIME, THE PILOT TOLD CINCINNATI APPROACH CONTROL "I AM GOING TO HAVE TO DESCEND FROM HERE AT 1500 I AM GETTING INTO TOO MANY CLOUDS".  CINCINNATI APPROACH LOST RADAR CONTACT WITH N42333 AT 0925.  THE RADAR DATA FROM  0920 UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE LAST HIT AT 0925 SHOWED THE FLIGHT AT 1100 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL TURNING AND THEN TRACKING WESTBOUND FOR ABOUT 4 MILES AND THEN TRACKING ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE BACK TO THE EAST BEFORE RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST.  THE LAST RADAR DATA SHOWED 1300 FEET AND 45 KNOTS.THE CINCINNATI WEATHER RECORDED 13 NAUTICAL MILES TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE 10 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT WAS 4 MILES VISIBILTY IN HAZE, FEW CLOUDS AT 1100 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.  A WITNESS WHO WAS IN HER RESIDENCE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT REPORTED THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND HEARD THE HELICOPTER AND THAT THE WEATHER WAS VERY FOGGY.  THE RESIDENCE IS ON THE TOP OF THE RIDGE AND WITHIN ONE MILE TO THE WEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE.  THE ACCIDENT SITE IS APPROXIMATELY 700 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE BY THE FAA, NTSB, ROBINSON HELICOPTER AND LYCOMING FOUND NO MECHANICAL DEFECTS THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT DID NOT HOLD AN INSTRUMENT RATING ON HIS PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE.

## 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 CEN11FA468](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11FA468), Jul 9, 2011: Robinson Helicopter R44 II (N42333), Rising Sun, IN, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The noninstrument-rated pilot's decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in his spatial disorientation and failure to maintain…

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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