ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 69205
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| Date: | Thursday 15 October 2009 |
| Time: | 17:51 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven |
| Owner/operator: | J-A-J-Investments-Ltd |
| Registration: | N3038W |
| MSN: | 1732 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 721 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | South of Babcock Ranch, Loblolly Bay Road, near LaBelle, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Babcock Ranch, LaBelle, Florida |
| Babcock Ranch, LaBelle, Florida | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 15, 2009, about 17:51 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), a Robinson R44 helicopter, N3038W, was substantially damaged during a forced landing South of Babcock Ranch, Loblolly Bay Road, near La Belle, Hendry County, Florida (at approximate coordinates 26'83.8056"N, 81'64.3611"W). The commercially-rated pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries, and one passenger sustained a serious injury. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight.
According to the pilot, the flight was a personal sightseeing flight with a friend of his, and two acquaintances of that friend. The pilot flew from the airport where the helicopter was based to a private farm in Punta Gorda, Florida, to pick up the passengers. The helicopter departed the farm about 17:30 EDT. None of the helicopter's four doors were installed for the flight, and the majority of the flight was conducted at or below 300 feet above ground level (agl). After approximately 30 minutes, while in cruise flight at about 60 knots and 150 feet agl, the pilot heard what he variously described as either a "light tapping" or a "thump," and then "a horn went off." The pilot did not observe any other annunciations or problems with the helicopter. The helicopter began to lose altitude, and the pilot "immediately proceeded into an auto-rotation toward a pasture." The tail of the helicopter struck trees, and the pilot reported that he "lost [anti-torque] pedal" at that point, but that he continued the auto-rotation to the ground.
Two of the passengers provided a different account of the accident flight. In a telephone conversation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, two passengers reported that most of the flight was conducted "below tree top level" at a "slow" airspeed. The passengers also stated that the flight was uneventful until the helicopter began to spin and descend. The passenger in the front seat stated that the helicopter struck "something," and immediately after that, the pilot pulled up on the collective control briefly, and then pushed it down. Neither passenger noticed any warning horns or lights.
According to the pilot, after it struck the ground, the helicopter spun in the horizontal plane approximately 180 degrees to the right, and then rolled onto its left side. When the helicopter came to a stop, the engine was not running, and the pilot switched off the fuel and the master switch. The pilot and two passengers exited the helicopter, but the remaining passenger, who seriously injured his foot in the impact, decided to remain in the helicopter until assistance arrived.
The pilot contacted assistance via 911 on his mobile telephone, but the poor quality of the connection precluded successful communication of the accident situation and location. He then called an acquaintance of his who was familiar with the local area. The acquaintance drove to the accident location, and then led law enforcement personnel to the site. An emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter was dispatched to remove and transport the injured passenger, but the EMS helicopter did not arrive until approximately 2 hours after the accident. The injured passenger was airlifted from the accident site approximately 3 hours after the accident.
According to information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident scene, the helicopter came to rest in a grassy field that was bordered by a treeline. The accident site was about 10.5 miles southeast of the flight's origination point. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail boom, the main rotor system, and the fuselage. One of the tail rotor blades, as well as the horizontal and vertical stabilizer tailplane assembly, and were fracture-separated from the helicopter. The tailplane assembly was found at the treeline, about 120 feet from the helicopter. The left side of the fuselage was crumpled, the main rotor blades were bent, and the main rotor mast was deformed. Control rods and other components of the main rotor control system were bent or otherwise damaged. One of the drive belts, which mechanically connected the engine output sheave to the rotor input sheave, was broken, and each of the remaining three drive belts had come off at least one of its respective sheaves. All drive belts exhibited fraying damage to their tie bands. The landing skids did not exhibit any significant deformation or damage.
Probable Cause: The loss of main rotor rpm due to the failure of one or more of the drive belts for undetermined reasons.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
2. FAA Registration: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=N3038W
3. http://helihub.com/2009/10/14/14-oct-09-n3038w-robinson-r44-babcock-ranch-us-florida/
4. http://www.nbc-2.com/story/11323846/story?s=11323846
5. https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20091017/news/605230118/SH/
6. http://www.nbc-2.com/story/11326797/feds-to-investigate-helicopter-crash
7. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=50844
8. https://planecrashmap.com/list/fl/
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBelle,_Florida
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Oct-2009 21:47 | RobertMB | Added |
| 18-Oct-2009 23:50 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 02-Dec-2017 17:06 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Nov-2018 19:51 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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