# NTSB ERA20CA260: Robinson R44, N350DM, Whitehall, MD, July 24, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 24, 2020, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Whitehall, MD - Coordinates: 39.677223, -76.609443 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6772&lon=-76.6094&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - NTSB case key (mKey): 101672 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA20CA260 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101672/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101672 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20CA260 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from a known obstacle while landing from a hover. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: identification/recognition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Robinson Helicopter R44, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md?model=7640120), [All aircraft, 559 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: ground equipment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022050): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [Robinson Helicopter R44, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022050/cases.md?model=7640120), [All aircraft, 52 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022050/cases.md) - [Alertness/Fatigue](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013500): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot; cases with it: [Robinson Helicopter R44, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013500/cases.md?model=7640120), [All aircraft, 48 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013500/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) (defining event); cases with it: [Robinson Helicopter R44, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=7640120), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the aerial application helicopter had sprayed hundreds of acres earlier in the day and was positioning the helicopter at another farm site for spraying the following day. He said he selected a landing site next to a grain trailer to remain clear of on-going farm operations. The pilot stated he began his approach at the end of a 7-hour duty day, hovered adjacent to the trailer, and focused his attention on the position of the spray booms as he descended over the landing spot. As he lowered the collective control to complete the landing, the main rotor blades struck the top and side of the grain trailer which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter’s main rotor blades and tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. In the NTSB Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report the pilot offered several safety recommendations to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. Among them, he suggested a "higher level" of aeronautical decision making, improved fatigue awareness, better obstacle awareness, and maintenance of landing area scan and avoidance of "fixation" on any one item or obstacle. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N350DM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N350DM), registered now, S/N 0366, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Robinson R44 (Undesignat) - Registry model: [Robinson Helicopter R44](https://openairdocs.org/model/robinson-helicopter-r44) (registry code 7640120) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-540-F1B5](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-540-f1b5) (registry code 42353, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 0366 - Year built: 1997 - Airframe hours: 11 - Engines: Lycoming O-540-F1B5 260 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, January 9, 2020, 3,869 hours before - Departed: New Freedom, PA - Destination: Whitehall, MD - Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,298 total, 1,662 in this make and model, 2,018 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 30.05 inHg - Observed at: KDMW, 19 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200724009999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200724009999A), Jul 24, 2020: Robinson Helicopter R44, White Hall, MD, Substantial damage. On 07/24/2020 at approximately 6:30 pm local time, at a farm near White Hall, MD, [privacy data omitted] was acting as pilot in command of his Robinson R-44… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 12, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101672. 2.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10022154&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20REPORT%20CA260_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 2 photos, 298 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10022499&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CA260%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.