# Incident 20190906017129I: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, Nuiqsut, AK, September 6, 2019

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 6, 2019, 13:50 local time
- Place: Nuiqsut, AK
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Ground/Ramp/Ma
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: UPXC
- Location: 63.8886° N, 160.7992° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=63.8886&lon=-160.7992&mi=10
- Aircraft: N447PA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N447PA) (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
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,680 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA19CA531](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA19CA531) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190906017129I

## Narrative

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

AFTER LANDING AT FIELD SITE DRILL PAD, PILOT OFFLOADED PASSENGERS TO REFUEL.  WHILE PERFORMING COOL DOWN PRIOR TO ENGINE SHUTDOWN AND SUBSEQUENT FUELING, GUSTY WINDS BLEW A LOOSE SUPER SACK ONTO THE PAD AND INTO THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM.  SACK ENTANGLED ITSELF ON ONE BLADE AND CAUSED SUFFICIENT DAMAGE TO RENDER BLADE UNAIRWORTHY.  DUE TO REQUIRED SUDDEN STOPPAGE INSPECTION, AIRCRAFT LOADED OUT TO DEADHORSE AND RETURNED TO HOME STATION FOR TEARDOWN.   BNH

## 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 GAA19CA531](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA19CA531), Sep 6, 2019: Robinson R44 (N447PA), Nuiqsut, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper decision to land downwind from unsecured debris, which resulted in the helicopter’s main rotor disk ingesting foreign objects.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.