- Date
- January 8, 2025, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Buras, LA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N430JMRobinson Helicopter R44 II
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Loss of control in flight
- 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
- 20250108000259A
- Case key
- 199528
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 maintain control during a hover taxi with a quartering tailwind.
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 reported that after returning from a local flight, he entered an in-ground effect hover taxi directly into the wind at the airport. While in the hover the pilot started a right pedal turn when he encountered a sudden right quartering tailwind. The pilot attempted to correct for the sudden wind; however, directional control was immediately lost, and the helicopter impacted the runway upright which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor system, the fuselage, and tail rotor system. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. At the time of the accident, the pilot was hover taxiing the helicopter with wind from 020° at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by performing a left pedal turn instead of the right pedal turn.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N430JM
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 10733
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 3,032
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 17, 2024
- Airport
- LS84 · Matidora, runway 04, 2,015 × 20 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- 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
- 43
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 54 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- KNBG, 38 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 21, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.4 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.