20210720013309A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Robinson Helicopter R44 II · West Liberty, IA · July 20, 2021

Date
July 20, 2021 · 05:20 local
Place
West Liberty, IA
Phase of flight
Other, Specify
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Operator
4VWG
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N983HA
NTSB investigation
NTSBCEN21LA339
Reported as
Robinson Helicopter R44 II
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
16,000 total4,000 in this make and model100 in the last 90 days

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 main rotor mast struck a wire. The wire broke and was trailing from the helicopter. The wire became entangled in the tail rotor causing failure of the tail rotor system. The helicopter descended into the corn field and rolled onto its side.

As the FAA filed it

THE MAIN ROTOR MAST STRUCK A WIRE. THE WIRE BROKE AND WAS TRAILING FROM THE HELICOPTER. THE WIRE BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE TAIL ROTOR CAUSING FAILURE OF THE TAIL ROTOR SYSTEM. THE HELICOPTER DESCENDED INTO THE CORN FIELD AND ROLLED ONTO ITS SIDE.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.