- Date
- June 9, 2019, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lebanon, MO
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N724HRobinson R44
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190609006349A
- Case key
- 99982
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 loss of yaw control and failure to maintain a proper descent rate and his subsequent improper use of the collective instead of the antitorque pedals to correct the yaw, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 5
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, during a vertical descent into a privately owned field and while the helicopter was about 20 ft about ground level, the helicopter yawed right. He then lowered the collective, and the helicopter continued to yaw right, descended, and landed hard. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the cabin assembly. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that he mistook the right yaw for a loss of tail rotor effectiveness and should have applied pedal corrections.
Factual narrative
The helicopter pilot reported that, during a vertical decent into a privately-owned field surrounded by trees and two buildings, about 20 feet about the ground, the helicopter yawed to the right. He then lowered the collective and the helicopter continued to yaw to the right, descended and landed hard on the field. The helicopter manufacturer reported that the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the cabin assembly. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that he mistook the right yaw for the loss of tail rotor effectiveness and should have instead applied pedal corrections.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N724H
- Reported as
- Robinson R44 (II)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 14293
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 88.27
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hendricks Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Hendricks Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- TBN · Fort Leonard Wood, MO
- Destination
- PVT · Lebanon, MO
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, 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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 249 total · 212 in this make and model · 154 as pilot in command · 66 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- KLBO, 9 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 16, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.5 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.