ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 209482
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| Date: | Saturday 24 September 2005 |
| Time: | 11:05 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 |
| Owner/operator: | Midstate Helicopters Inc |
| Registration: | N9158U |
| MSN: | 0604 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1789 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Hammil Lake near Drummond, Wisconsin -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Cable, Bayfield County, Wisconsin |
| Cable, Bayfield County, Wisconsin | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On September 24, 2005, about 11:05 CDT (Central Daylight Time), a Robinson R44, N9158U, operated by Midstate Aviation Inc. (Midstate Helicopters Inc.), received substantial damage on impact with a power line and Hammil Lake, near Drummond, Wisconsin, while providing rides during a Fall festival at Cable, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions were recorded at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 revenue sightseeing flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The local flight departed about 11:00 CDT.
A witness stated that he was walking with his father in a field when he heard the helicopter that was working the Fall festival. He heard the pitch of the helicopter change, the rpm increase, and then heard a muffled crash after which he no longer heard the helicopter rotor. The pitch change lasted for 1-2 seconds. He did not hear any sputtering of the engine. It sounded like it hit water, but he added that he never heard a helicopter crash before. He talked to fishermen at Hammil Lake who said they didn't see anything. He then took their boat and went down the lake where he saw debris and a downed power line. He first saw cushions on the lake surface and then debris protruding from the water surface. He said that the debris was actually one of the helicopter's fuel tanks, which smelled like fuel.
The witness stated that the weather was cloudy, foggy, and misty. There was no ground fog. He stated that when he was on Lake Hammil, it was gray. The clouds were about 1,000 feet above the ground and visibility was good when it wasn't raining; it wasn't raining at the time of the accident. He said that the winds were from the south.
First responders reported the helicopter was resting in Hammil Lake at a depth of about 20 feet near a downed power line. The wreckage possessed a twisted strand cable that was wrapped around the main rotor mast and was embedded in the main rotor blades, which exhibited fracture and separation. The tail boom was separated from the fuselage and the tail rotor blades did not display damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: Clearance not obtained/maintained by the pilot during an unknown phase of flight. Contributing factors were the improper use of procedures by the pilot, the inadequate surveillance of the operation by company/management, and the wire.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: CHI05FA274 at https://www.ntsb.gov/about/employment/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20051003X01564&ntsbno=CHI05FA274&akey=1
2. FAA: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=9158U
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=710
4. https://madison.com/news/local/killed-in-festival-helicopter-crash/article_10386cd5-979f-554a-97e4-5163f680169c.html
5. https://madison.com/news/local/man-dies-in-copter-crash-during-trip-with-family-the/article_10435ac6-6986-5d34-a16f-06a0b13ee606.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable,_Wisconsin
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-2018 06:47 | CessnaClub | Added |
| 18-Apr-2018 06:50 | harro | Updated [Date, Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Plane category] |
| 22-Oct-2018 20:40 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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