# NTSB investigations: Robinson Helicopter R44: Loss of visual reference

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 ERA27LA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA27LA017.md): Robinson Helicopter R44 · Kinnelon, NJ · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Investigation open · Oct 20, 2026 · N744CJ
- [NTSB WPR21LA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21LA021.md): Robinson R44 · Pahrump, NV · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Oct 16, 2020 · N500DL · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control while hovering low over a body a water while facing into the sun, which resulted in a loss of visual reference and subsequent impact with the lake surface.
- [NTSB ERA16FA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16FA143.md): Robinson R44 · Canadensis, PA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Mar 27, 2016 · N776JM · Destroyed
  > The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation, which occurred after ascending in order to clear rising terrain and inadvertently entering the clouds.
- [NTSB ERA09FA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09FA036.md): Robinson R-44 · Gallatin, TN · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 3, 2008 · N300FX · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's inadvertent descent into water as a result of the dark night and limited outside visual references.

## 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 ('7640120')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '402' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/402/sequence?model=7640120

---
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.