ANC26LA103

On September 11, 2026 about 0830 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44 helicopter, N4026E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Colquitt, Georgia. The pilot was not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 agricultural flight. According to the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection and engine run-up of the helicopter and found no anomalies. He verified all gauges were in the green and hovered the helicopter over to a trailer and landed on the trailer. Ground personnel added five gallons of fuel and loaded 50 lbs of liquid to the helicopter while the helicopter remained running. The ground personnel unhooked all the hoses from the helicopter and gave the pilot a signal it was safe to depart from the trailer. The pilot lifted the helicopter to a hover over the trailer and verified all gauges were still in the green. The pilot pushed forward on the cyclic to depart from the trailer, as the helicopter began to move forward, he felt a jolt and heard and felt the engine “skipping.” Subsequently the engine lost partial power and the helicopter settled into the terrain resulting in a hard landing. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail boom, tail rotor gear box, and tail rotor blades. A detailed wreckage examination is pending.