- Date
- June 25, 2005, 11:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Osage Beach, MO
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7195LRobinson R22 Beta
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Kansas City, MO, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050625014019A
- Case key
- 61957
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 not maintaining clearance from the water while maneuvering for photographs.
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
The helicopter was destroyed on impact with a lake. The pilot's accident report stated, "I was on a photo flight. We were taking pictures of boats on the Lake Of The Ozarks. I was descending from about 150 [feet above ground level] agl, to take photos. I tried to level off about 40 agl when the helicopter began to shutter and sink through. I pulled more collective which seemed to worsen the shudder. I began a flare and collided with the water for the most part skids level." The pilot did not list any mechanical malfunctions associated with the flight.
Factual narrative
On June 25, 2005, about 1115 central daylight time, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, N7195L, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed on impact with the Lake of the Ozarks, near Osage Beach, Missouri. The helicopter was maneuvering for photographs above the lake in visual meteorological conditions. The flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported that he sustained no injuries. The passenger reported that he had sustained minor injuries. The local flight departed from the Lee C Fine Memorial Airport, near Kaiser Lake Ozark, Missouri, about 1035.
The pilot's accident report stated:
I was on a photo flight. We were taking pictures of boats on the
Lake Of The Ozarks. I was descending from about 150 [feet
above ground level] agl, to take photos. I tried to level off about
40 agl when the helicopter began to shutter and sink through. I
pulled more collective witch seemed to worsen the shudder. I
began a flare and collided with the water for the most part skids
level.
The pilot did not list any mechanical malfunctions associated with the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7195L
- Reported as
- Robinson R22 Beta
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3203
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-J2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Midwest Aeronautical Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- AIZ · Kaiser/Lake Oza, MO
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
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2005
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 606 total · 489 in this make and model · 175 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Observed at
- AIZ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.