- Date
- July 15, 2015, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sandusky, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8337ZRobinson Helicopter R44
- Defining event
- Approach: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20150715012479A
- Case key
- 91808
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 monitor the landing environment while operating in a confined off-airport site resulting in a wire strike and substantial damage to the helicopter.
Findings · 2
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 landing at a remote off-airport site, he was informed by the site owner that the helicopter had collided with a wire during the landing approach. The pilot stated that "I didn't feel anything" when the owner of the field informed him that he struck the wires. The pilot reported that prior to departing on the next leg of his flight he performed a preflight inspection and found a "slight scratch on the tail rotor". The pilot stated that, "the helicopter sounded and felt okay" during the pre-takeoff run-up, and he departed for his home where the helicopter is stored. A post-accident inspection revealed that the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor drive system. The pilot stated that there were no pre-accident malfunctions or anomalies that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after landing at a remote off-airport site, he was informed by the site owner that the helicopter had collided with a wire during the landing approach. The pilot stated that "I didn't feel anything" when the owner of the field informed him that he struck the wires. The pilot reported that prior to departing on the next leg of his flight he performed a preflight inspection and found a "slight scratch on the tail rotor". The pilot stated that, "the helicopter sounded and felt okay" during the pre-takeoff run-up, and he departed for his home where the helicopter is stored. A post-accident inspection revealed that the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor drive system. The pilot stated that there were no pre-accident malfunctions or anomalies that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8337Z
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44 (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0278
- Built
- 1996
- Airframe hours
- 698.1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540 F1B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hawk Helicopters LLC
- Registered owner
- Hawk Helicopters LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 5, 2015 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- Harbor Beach, MI
- Destination
- Sandusky, MI
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 25, 2015
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 550 total · 120 in this make and model · 12.3 in the last 90 days · 12.3 in the last 30 days · 1.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 6 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- BAX, 32 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 17, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.5 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.