- Date
- July 28, 2004, 07:30 local (11:30 UTC)
- Place
- Goldsboro, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N442RDRobinson Helicopter R44 II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - Greensboro FSDO - 05
- FAA report
- 20040728016569A
- Case key
- 59776
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point during landing on a helipad with an exposed edge, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, he executed a landing on a concrete helipad that was elevated approximately six inches above the ground. He stated the helicopter touched down slightly off center, and he attempted to reposition the helicopter on the pad. The pilot stated that, during repositioning, the rear of the skids went off the rear of the pad, the helicopter tilted backward, and the tail rotor struck the ground. Examination of the accident site revealed the concrete helipad was approximately 13 feet long and 13 feet wide, and the width between the helicopter's skids was seven feet. Examination of the helicopter revealed the ninety-degree gearbox was separated, the tail rotor was separated and fragmented, and the lower portion of the vertical fin was crushed. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the helicopter.
Factual narrative
On July 28, 2004, about 0730 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44 II, N442RD, registered to Carolina Kidney, Inc., and operated by the private pilot, collided with the ground during landing at a private residential helipad in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private pilot reported no injuries, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Emerald Isle, North Carolina, about 0700 on July 28, 2004.
According to the pilot, he executed a landing on a concrete helipad that was elevated approximately six inches above the ground. He stated the helicopter touched down slightly off center, and he attempted to reposition the helicopter on the pad. The pilot stated that, during repositioning, the rear of the skids went off the rear of the pad, the helicopter tilted backward, and the tail rotor struck the ground.
Examination of the accident site revealed the concrete helipad was approximately 13 feet long and 13 feet wide, and the width between the helicopter's skids was seven feet. Examination of the helicopter revealed the ninety-degree gearbox was separated, the tail rotor was separated and fragmented, and the lower portion of the vertical fin was crushed. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N442RD
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 10237
- Airframe hours
- 68
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 245 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 28, 2003 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Emerald Isle, NC
- Destination
- PVT · Goldsboro, NC
- Airport
- PVT · Goldsboro - private helipad
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 22, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,658 total · 70 in this make and model · 1,550 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KRDU, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.