- Date
- July 6, 2025, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Park City, UT · Between Park city and Midway, UT
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N715SGRobinson Helicopter R44
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20250706020269A
- Case key
- 200486
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 maintain rotor rpm during an approach to landing in a mountainous area, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
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 of a helicopter reported that, after performing a series of reconnaissance passes, followed by an out of ground effect hover power check, he decided to fly an approach to a mountain meadow. During the approach to landing, the pilot slowed the descent rate and realized the rotor rpm had decayed rapidly. The pilot lowered the collective and applied forward cyclic to increase airspeed to regain rotor rpm but was unable to recover. He then lowered the collective to enter an autorotation. Upon touchdown, the tail skid struck the ground, the helicopter pitched forward, and the main rotor impacted terrain. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The pilot reported no mechanical issues with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N715SG
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R44
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1261
- Built
- 2002
- Airframe hours
- 1,083.2
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540F1 SERIE, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Silver Sky Helicopters LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KSVR · West Jordan, UT
- Airport
- NA
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Satellite tracking device
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
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 13, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,003 total · 230 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 16,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KHCR, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KHCR 031955Z AUTO 24013KT 10SM FEW120 BKN160 27/06 A3005 RMK AO2 T02750062 $=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 5, 2025, 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.