- Date
- April 15, 1991, 10:35 local (17:35 UTC)
- Place
- Piru, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4030ARobinson R-22B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910415010619A
- Case key
- 27177
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
1) The pilot failing to maintain visual lookout, and 2) inflight collision with unmarked transmission wires.
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 pilot was performing a normal takeoff from a local flight training area and had attained an airspeed of about 60 miles per hour and an altitude of about 75 feet above ground level. He stated that he saw a single engine fixed-wing airplane on a collision course with his helicopter. To avoid a collision, he executed a hard dive. The helicopter's right skid made contact with transmission wires. The wire contact caused a loss of control and subsequent collision with the terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4030A
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1537
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ray Klein, doing business as Ray Klein Helicopters
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- VNY · Van Nuys, CA
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 35 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.