20120522008529I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Robinson Helicopter R44 II · South Lake Taho, CA · May 22, 2012

Date: May 22, 2012 · 08:45 local
Place: South Lake Taho, CA
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
Damage: No damage
Aircraft: N3234U
Reported as: Robinson Helicopter R44 II
Reported engine: Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 1
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 16,000 total5,000 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

N3234URegistration cancelled Mar 6, 2017 · Robinson Helicopter R44 IIS/N 11654 · Built 2007 Airframe modelRobinson Helicopter R44 II Engine modelLycoming IO-540-AE1A5Reciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The deceased, Mr. Ranieri, robert anthony held a "c" license and a coach rating with jump experience reported in excess of 300 jumps. Mr. Ranieri had no club affiliation. The main parachute packed on 05/21/2012, by Mr. Ranieri was a performance design pd sabre P3/150. Note: the serial number was unreadable. The reserve parachute packed on 08/19/2011, by a senior rigger, was a precision raven ii, s/n 02528624. The single harness, duel parachute container was a sunrise rigging "wings". Investigation revealed that three jumpers exited the helicopter at about 9,300 feet AGL. Unexpected winds were encountered that forced the jumpers out over lake tahoe. The two rescued jumpers were not certain where Mr. Ranieri had landed. Several hours later, Mr. Ranieri body was found in 12.5 feet of water. A review of Mr. Ranieri's helmet camera revealed his parachute opened normally; however, he drowned subsequent to landing.

As the FAA filed it

THE DECEASED, MR. RANIERI, ROBERT ANTHONY HELD A "C" LICENSE AND A COACH RATING WITH JUMP EXPERIENCE REPORTED IN EXCESS OF 300 JUMPS. MR. RANIERI HAD NO CLUB AFFILIATION. THE MAIN PARACHUTE PACKED ON 05/21/2012, BY MR. RANIERI WAS A PERFORMANCE DESIGN PD SABRE P3/150. NOTE: THE SERIAL NUMBER WAS UNREADABLE. THE RESERVE PARACHUTE PACKED ON 08/19/2011, BY A SENIOR RIGGER, WAS A PRECISION RAVEN II, S/N 02528624. THE SINGLE HARNESS, DUEL PARACHUTE CONTAINER WAS A SUNRISE RIGGING "WINGS". INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THREE JUMPERS EXITED THE HELICOPTER AT ABOUT 9,300 FEET AGL. UNEXPECTED WINDS WERE ENCOUNTERED THAT FORCED THE JUMPERS OUT OVER LAKE TAHOE. THE TWO RESCUED JUMPERS WERE NOT CERTAIN WHERE MR. RANIERI HAD LANDED. SEVERAL HOURS LATER, MR. RANIERI BODY WAS FOUND IN 12.5 FEET OF WATER. A REVIEW OF MR. RANIERI'S HELMET CAMERA REVEALED HIS PARACHUTE OPENED NORMALLY; HOWEVER, HE DROWNED SUBSEQUENT TO LANDING.

Other reports on N3234U · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 20141202020649ALanding: Approach · North Salt Lake, UTIn flight break up of aircraft due to improperly installed hardware during track and balance maintenance.Dec 2, 2014 · Destroyed · 2 fatal