# Accident 20200331002989A: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, Audubon, IA, March 31, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 31, 2020, 16:28 local time
- Place: Audubon, IA
- Airport: Audubon County Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.6599° N, 94.7636° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6599&lon=-94.7636&mi=10
- Aircraft: N107EH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N107EH-2023-03-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Robinson Helicopter R44 II (registry code 7640122, https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r44-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 II
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 945 total, 665 in this make and model, 68 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA136) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200331002989A

## Narrative

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

A ROBINSON R44 II HELICOPTER FLYING LEVEL AT LOW ALTITUDE, 85-90 FEET AGL, CONTACTED THE BOTTOM TWO LINES OF A POWER TRANSMISSION, HIGH VOLTAGE, LINE. THE LINES ENTANGLED AROUND THE MAIN ROTOR MAST AND ROTOR HEAD, CAUSING THE HELICOPTER TO CRASH, KILLING BOTH OCCUPANTS ON-BOARD. POST-CRASH FIRE DESTROYED THE HELICOPTER.

## 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 CEN20LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA136), Mar 31, 2020: Robinson Helicopter R44 II (N107EH), Audubon, IA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to recognize and avoid the power line during the low-altitude flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue, which affected the pilot’s ability to see and avoid the…

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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