# Incident 20120522008529I: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, South Lake Taho, CA, May 22, 2012

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 22, 2012, 08:45 local time
- Place: South Lake Taho, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Parachute jumping (Part 105)
- Location: 38.9282° N, 119.9810° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of South Lake Tahoe, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9282&lon=-119.9810&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3234U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3234U-2017-03-06) (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: 3
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 16,000 total, 5,000 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120522008529I

## Narrative

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

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 20141202020649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20141202020649A), Dec 2, 2014: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II (N3234U), North Salt Lake, UT, Destroyed, 2 fatal. In flight break up of aircraft due to improperly installed hardware during track and balance maintenance.

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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