# Accident 20211010019409A: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, Cornwall, NY, October 10, 2021 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 10, 2021, 14:00 local time - Place: Cornwall, NY - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.4273° N, 73.9856° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.4273&lon=-73.9856&mi=10 - Aircraft: N637HP, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N637HP) (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: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 503 total, 473 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA22FA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22FA010) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20211010019409A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON OCTOBER 10, 2021, AT 1357 LOCAL TIME, A ROBINSON R44 II, N637HP, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN CORNWALL, NEW YORK. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED AS A PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. ACCORDING TO FUELING RECORDS, THE PILOT PURCHASED 24.6 GALLONS OF FUEL PRIOR TO DEPARTURE FROM FLOYD BENNET MEMORIAL AIRPORT (GFL), GLENN FALLS, NEW YORK, ABOUT 1247. THE DESTINATION WAS MACARTHUR AIRPORT (ISP), RONKONKOMA, NEW YORK, WHERE THE HELICOPTER WAS BASED. ACCORDING TO FAA TRACKING DATA, AT 1356, AS THE HELICOPTER WAS FLYING SOUTHBOUND OVER THE CENTER OF THE HUDSON RIVER AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 1,700 FT MSL IT BEGAN A CLIMBING RIGHT TURN TOWARD THE WEST. AS IT REACHED THE SHORELINE, IT TURNED RIGHT AGAIN AND FLEW TOWARD THE NORTHWEST FOR ABOUT 1/4 MILE, BEFORE IT DESCENDED AND TURNED LEFT ABOUT 90°. THE RECORDED DATA ENDED ABOUT 120 YARDS NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE ENTIRE FLIGHT WAS ABOUT 70 MINUTES AND THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 120 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH OF GFL. A WITNESS LOCATED ON A HIKING TRAIL ABOUT 0.1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED HEARING THE HELICOPTER?S ENGINE "FALTER AND DIE." ONE TO TWO SECONDS LATER, HE HEARD A SWISHING SOUND, WHICH HE ATTRIBUTED TO THE HELICOPTER "SPINNING" OR BEING ?OUT OF CONTROL,? HOWEVER HE COULD NOT SEE THE HELICOPTER DUE TO THE TREE CANOPY. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE HEARD A SERIES OF LOUD NOISES THAT HE DESCRIBED AS "BACKFIRES, AT MACHINE GUN SPEED? FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS, WHICH HE SURMISED WAS ?THE ENGINE CATCHING AND THE ROTORS SLAPPING," AND THEN THE SOUNDS STOPPED. HE REPORTED THAT THE VISIBILITY WAS "CLEAR," THE CLOUDS WERE HIGHER THAN THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS, THERE WAS NO FOG OVER THE RIVER, AND HE COULD SEE THE RIVER CLEARLY FROM HIS LOCATION ON THE HIKING TRAIL. A SECOND WITNESS LOCATED ABOUT 1/2-MILE NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED HEARING A "LOUD NOISE" THAT HE BELIEVED WAS THE HELICOPTER?S ENGINE. WHEN HE TURNED TOWARD THE NOISE, HE OBSERVED THE HELICOPTER IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE OF NEARLY 90°, TRAVELLING AT A "HIGH SPEED?STRAIGHT DOWN." THE WITNESS LOST SIGHT OF THE HELICOPTER AS IT DESCENDED BELOW A TREE LINE; SHORTLY THEREAFTER HE "HEARD IT CRASH." EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SCENE REVEALED A DEBRIS PATH THAT WAS ABOUT 150 FT LONG AND ORIENTED ON A HEADING OF ABOUT 188° MAGNETIC. IT BEGAN WITH DAMAGED TREETOPS AND BROKEN LIMBS, WHERE THE TAIL ROTOR ASSEMBLY AND TAIL ROTOR GUARD WERE LOCATED. THE MAIN IMPACT CRATER WAS ABOUT 60 FT FROM THE INITIAL TREE STRIKE, WITH THE MAIN WRECKAGE LOCATED ABOUT 60 FT BEYOND THE CRATER. THE FUSELAGE WAS FRAGMENTED AND COMPRESSED FROM THE NOSE TOWARD THE REAR SEATS. ALL FLIGHT CONTROL FITTINGS REMAINED ATTACHED AT THEIR ENDS. THE PUSH-PULL TUBES BETWEEN THE SERVOS AND THE SWASHPLATE REMAINED INTACT. ALL OTHER PUSH-PULL TUBES WERE FRACTURED, SOME IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, CONSISTENT WITH OVERLOAD. THE SPRAG CLUTCH OPERATED NORMALLY WHEN ROTATED BY HAND. ALL DRIVE BELTS WERE INTACT AND FOUND IN PLACE. THE FUEL TANKS WERE IMPACT DAMAGED; THEIR BLADDERS WERE BREACHED, AND A TRACE AMOUNT OF FUEL REMAINED IN THE BLADDERS. SOME VEGETATION SURROUNDING THE CRATER AND THE MAIN WRECKAGE SHOWED EVIDENCE OF FUEL BLIGHT. BOTH MAGNETOS WERE SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE. THE LEFT MAGNETO WAS FRACTURED AND THE LOWER HALF WAS NOT RECOVERED. THE RIGHT MAGNETO HAD SOME IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE TOP NEAR THE CONDENSER BUT WAS OTHERWISE INTACT. IT WOULD NOT PRODUCE A SPARK ON ANY LEADS WHEN TESTED. THE 1345 WEATHER CONDITIONS AT STEWART AIRPORT (SWF), LOCATED 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE AT AN ELEVATION OF 491 FT MSL, INCLUDED AN OVERCAST CEILING AT 1,500 FT, VISIBILITY 5 MILES IN MIST. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AN ADVISORY WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA AND THE INTENDED DESTINATION, WARNING OF POSSIBLE INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE HELICOPTER WAS RETAINED BY THE NTSB FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. THIS REPORT WILL BE AMENDED IF FURTHER INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE. ## 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 ERA22FA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22FA010), Oct 10, 2021: Robinson Helicopter R44 II (N637HP), Cornwall, NY, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot’s continued flight into deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation. 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.