# Accident 20140404008889A: Helpling Helen C TANGO 2, Ocala, FL, April 4, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 4, 2014, 16:20 local time
- Place: Ocala, FL
- Airport: Ocala International Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.1775° N, 82.2286° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.1775&lon=-82.2286&mi=10
- Aircraft: N599WT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N599WT-2015-03-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Helpling Helen C TANGO 2 (registry code 05631ZX, https://openairdocs.org/model/helpling-helen-c-tango-2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360 series (registry code 41881, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HELPLING HELEN C TANGO 2
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA14LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA180) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140404008889A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 4, 2014, ABOUT 1620 EDT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT HELPLING TANGO 2, N599WT, WAS DESTROYED DURING COLLISION WITH TERRAIN AND A SUBSEQUENT POST-CRASH FIRE AFTER TAKE OFF FROM OCALA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (OCF), OCALA, FLORIDA. THE PRIVATE PILOT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. THE PILOT WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW, AS SHE WAS BEING TREATED FOR HER INJURIES. SEVERAL WITNESSES PROVIDED STATEMENTS TO THE POLICE, AND THEIR STATEMENTS WERE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT. SOME SAID THAT THEIR ATTENTION WAS DRAWN TO THE SOUND OF THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE DURING ITS PRE-TAKEOFF RUNUP DUE TO A "POPPING" SOUND; BUT REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE SOUND WAS SMOOTH AND CONTINUOUS AT "FULL" POWER THROUGHOUT THE TAKEOFF. AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED ABOUT 20 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY WHEN THE LEFT CANOPY OPENED "SUDDENLY" AND BEGAN "FLAPPING UP AND DOWN." THE AIRPLANE BEGAN "PORPOISING" BEFORE IT ENTERED A STEEP LEFT BANK AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A LEFT-WING-LOW ATTITUDE AND A POSTCRASH FIRE ENSUED. AS OF THIS DATE, UNABLE TO GET PILOT STATEMENT DUE TO PILOT STILL IN BURN UNIT AT HOSPITAL.

## 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 ERA14LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA180), Apr 4, 2014: Helpling Helen C Tango 2 (N599WT), Ocala, FL, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after the left cockpit canopy opened during takeoff for reasons that could not be determined due to fire damage.

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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