- Date
- January 18, 1993, 12:39 local (20:39 UTC)
- Place
- Watsonville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2304PRobinson R-22 Beta
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930118000539A
- Case key
- 27905
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
Pilot's poor visual look-out. A factor relating to this accident was that the pilot diverted his attention.
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 and passenger were searching for a missing person in a river. The pilot diverted his attention while searching for the person and failed to see the wires that crossed the river. The helicopter plunged to the ground after colliding with the wires. The pilot stated that he did not encounter any preexisting helicopter malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2304P
- Reported as
- Robinson R-22 Beta
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1928
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2C, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Verticare Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Verticare Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- SNS · Salinas, 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 800 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.