# Incident 20230818013659I: Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II, Beatty, NV, August 18, 2023

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 18, 2023, 16:00 local time
- Place: Beatty, NV
- Airport: Beatty
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8611° N, 116.7864° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BEATTY (BTY), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8611&lon=-116.7864&mi=10
- Aircraft: N744ME, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N744ME) (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: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot, student
- Pilot flight hours: 2,800 total, 900 in this make and model, 270 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230818013659I

## Narrative

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

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS CONDUCTING AERIAL SURVEY OF AN OFF ROAD RACE. WHILE FOLLOWING A RACE CAR WESTBOUND AT APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET AND 40KTS IN A CANYON WITH RISING TERRAIN, THE PILOT SLOWED THE AIRCRAFT AND TURNED TO NORTH FOLLOWING THE COURSE. THE AIRCRAFT DECENDED AND EXPERIENCED ROTOR RPM DECAY. AT FULL THROTTLE, POWER WAS NOT AVAILBABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE. THE PILOT LANDED IN THE CANYON AND REDUCED THE THROTTLE TO GROUND IDLE. WHEN THE FRONT AND REAR PASSENGERS EXITED, THE AIRCRAFT ROCKED REARWARD. THE TAIL ROTOR AND MAIN ROTOR TIPS STRUCK BOULDERS. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AND THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR 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.

---
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.