- Date
- August 27, 2004, 21:50 local (Aug 28, 2004, 01:50 UTC)
- Place
- Wildwood, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N315SGRobinson R44
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20040827026889A
- Case key
- 59999
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 inadequate visual lookout while conducting a nighttime landing to a dolly, which resulted in a stuck skid, and subsequent hard landing. A factor was the nighttime conditions.
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
As the helicopter was being set down onto a dolly during the hours of darkness, it felt unstable, and the pilot elected to abort the landing. As the pilot raised the collective, the helicopter lurched forward and began to spin to the left. The pilot lowered the collective, reduced the throttle, and the helicopter touched down hard onto the ground, spreading the landing skids. Inspection of the dolly, and the landing skids on the helicopter, revealed that the rear portion of the left skid became stuck under metal framework, which was exposed in an open area near the center section of the dolly.
Factual narrative
On August 27, 2004, at 2150 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44, N315SG, was substantially damaged landing at the Cape May County Airport (WWD), Wildwood, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, as he was setting the helicopter down onto a dolly, it felt unstable, and he elected to abort the landing. As the pilot raised the collective, the helicopter lurched forward and began to spin to the left. The pilot lowered the collective, reduced the throttle, and the helicopter touched down hard onto the ground, spreading the landing skids.
Inspection of the dolly, and the landing skids on the helicopter, revealed that the rear portion of the left skid became stuck under metal framework, which was exposed in an open area near the center section of the dolly.
Inspection of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade severed the tail cone and damaged the tail rotor system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N315SG
- Reported as
- Robinson R44
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1315
- Airframe hours
- 526
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kape Kopter, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- WWD · Wildwood, NJ
- Airport
- WWD · Cape May County Airport
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 13, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 877 total · 700 in this make and model · 750 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- WWD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.