# NTSB investigations: Robinson Helicopter R44 II: Hard landing NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports. ## Latest cases - [NTSB CEN26LA276](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA276.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Bennett, IA · Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report · Aug 2, 2026 · N26KL · Substantial damage > On August 2, 2026, about 1318 central daylight time, a Robinson Helicopter Company R44 II helicopter, N26KL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Bennett, Iowa. The pilot was not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14… - [NTSB CEN22LA400](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA400.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · San Isidro, TX · Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 21, 2022 · N4447A · Substantial damage > The pilot’s improper decision to conduct an autorotation with a tailwind, which resulted in a hard landing and substantial damage. - [NTSB WPR22LA299](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22LA299.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Palmer, AK · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 11, 2022 · N987WH · Substantial damage > The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral control during an off-field landing, which resulted in loss of control and an impact with terrain. - [NTSB CEN21LA378](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA378.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Gonzales, LA · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 21, 2021 · N222VB · Substantial damage > The pilot’s inadvertent collision with a tree while landing at night which resulted in a hard landing. - [NTSB ERA21LA252](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA252.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Sylva, NC · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jun 14, 2021 · N443SH · Substantial damage > The pilot’s intentional departure from the procedures published in the manufacturer’s flight training guide, and his subsequent loss of engine rpm, rotor rpm, and aircraft control. - [NTSB CEN17LA219](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA219.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Douglas, WY · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 9, 2017 · N590GG · Substantial damage > The pilot's inability to control the helicopter's descent after encountering a sudden wind shift to a tailwind while performing a near maximum gross weight landing at a high density altitude. - [NTSB CEN15LA387](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15LA387.md): Robinson R44 II · Cheyenne, WY · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 28, 2015 · N440SA · Substantial damage > The pilot's improper preflight performance planning, which resulted in a hard landing due to low rotor rpm while operating near maximum gross weight in high density altitude conditions. - [NTSB ERA14LA311](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA311.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Nashville, TN · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 24, 2014 · N544BS · Substantial damage > The pilot’s failure to maintain rotor rpm during an autorotation after a perceived partial loss of power, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was radio frequency interference with the governor controller, which resulted in an… - [NTSB CEN13LA228](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13LA228.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Buffalo, SD · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Apr 13, 2013 · N424DP · Substantial damage > The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate main rotor rpm while maneuvering at a low altitude in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in an emergency landing on uneven terrain. - [NTSB CEN13CA124](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13CA124.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Menard, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jan 2, 2013 · N744RM · Substantial damage > The helicopter landed hard during a forced landing. - [NTSB CEN12LA573](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA573.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Belgium, WI · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 10, 2012 · N144DZ · Substantial damage > The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter while landing in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing. - [NTSB LAX08CA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08CA182.md): Robinson R44 II · Missoula, MT · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jun 14, 2008 · N272SW · Destroyed > The student's inadvertent control interference, which the flight instructor was unable to overcome. A contributing factor was the instructor's poor crew coordination in his failure to verbally command the student to relinquish the controls and his inadequate… ## The whole list in SQL Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS: ```sql SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1 WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('7640122', '7640123') AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e WHERE e.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND e.aircrafts_position = x.position AND e."isDefiningEvent" AND e."tier2Number" = '092')) ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC ``` This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/cases?model=7640122 --- 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.