- Date
- December 29, 2014, 15:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Horseshoe Bay, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N174CDRobinson Helicopter R44 II
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Tailstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20141229023359A
- Case key
- 90562
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 helicopter's contact with the landing pad during a rejected landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot attempted to land the helicopter on a landing cart. As the helicopter's skids contacted the cart, the helicopter began to slide forward and to the left. The pilot aborted the landing and brought the helicopter back to a hover. During the maneuver, the tail boom stinger contacted the landing cart and the helicopter nosed over. The helicopter touched down and rolled on to its side, causing substantial damage to the tail boom, fuselage, and rotor system. The pilot reported a variable wind and a developing tailwind during the landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot attempted to land the helicopter on a landing cart. As the helicopter's skids contacted the cart, the helicopter began to slide forward and to the left. The pilot aborted the landing and brought the helicopter back to a hover. During the maneuver, the tail boom stinger contacted the landing cart and the helicopter nosed over. The helicopter touched down and rolled on to its side, causing substantial damage to the tail boom, fuselage, and rotor system. The pilot reported a variable wind and a developing tailwind during the landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N174CD
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 13304
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 339
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 23, 2014 · 13.6 hours before
- Departed
- BMQ · Burnet, TX
- Destination
- DZB · Horseshoe Bay, TX
- Airport
- DZB · Horseshoe Bay Resort
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 18, 2014
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 13,973 total · 337.2 in this make and model · 13,973 as pilot in command · 76.5 in the last 90 days · 0.4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- KDZB
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 8, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.