- Date
- December 5, 2020, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Marietta, TX
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N371MPRobinson Helicopter R44 II
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20201205020549A
- Case key
- 102385
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 see and avoid a transmission wire during takeoff.
Findings · 3
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 was lifting off from a field near a road with obstructions to the north, east, and south. During the departure to the west, the helicopter collided with a transmission line and the helicopter landed hard on the highway. The fuselage and main rotor blades sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. He stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had performed a confined area takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N371MP
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II (II)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 14298
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 485.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Private Individual
- Registered owner
- N371mp Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 9, 2020 · 56.5 hours before
- Destination
- Texarkana, TX
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 5,139.4 total · 49.6 in this make and model · 4,945 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 6.2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 4 knots
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- KOSA
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 10, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 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.