ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 43839
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| Date: | Tuesday 27 March 2007 |
| Time: | 10:30 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven II |
| Owner/operator: | Silver State Helicopters LLC |
| Registration: | N744SH |
| MSN: | 10830 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 861 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-AEIA5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Johns County, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Craig Municipal Airport, Jacksonville, Florida (CRG/KCRG) |
| Craig Municipal Airport, Jacksonville, Florida (CRG/KCRG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On March 27, 2007, approximately 10:30 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), a Robinson R44 II single-engine helicopter, N744SH, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control during cruise flight near Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The flight instructor and student pilot were fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Silver State Helicopters, LLC, North Las Vegas, Nevada. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The local flight departed the Craig Municipal Airport (CRG), Jacksonville, Florida, approximately 10:10 EDT.
According to Silver State personnel, the local instructional flight was scheduled for a time block between the hours of 09:00 and 11:00 EDT. The flight was originally scheduled to be conducted in the Robinson R22 helicopter; however, due to a scheduling conflict, the R22 was not available. Due to the conflict, the Silver State local management then allowed the instructor and student to conduct an orientation and familiarization flight in the R44 helicopter. The route of flight was scheduled for an eastbound departure from CRG, south along the Atlantic Ocean coastline to St. Augustine, then back to CRG.
Several witnesses observed the helicopter approximately 200 to 500 feet above ground level (agl) in cruise flight along the coastline on a southerly heading. One witness, a former pilot and mechanic, reported he observed the helicopter in straight and level flight, then heard a change in "rotor noise, followed by a bang/pop/twang sound." The helicopter then "snap-rolled" to the left and descended into the terrain in a nose low attitude. The helicopter impacted the sand terrain, bounced, and came to rest near the low tide water line. A post-impact fire ensued and extinguished itself a short time thereafter.
The main wreckage came to rest on the sand beach at 30 degrees 13.54 minutes north latitude and 81 degrees 22.32 minutes west longitude. The initial impact point was a 4-foot crater in the sand terrain located at the high tide waterline. The helicopter wreckage was distributed along a measured magnetic heading of approximately 160 degrees from the initial impact point. The main wreckage came to rest approximately 100 feet from the initial impact point. The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, main rotor assembly, tailboom, and tail rotor. Several fragmented pieces of the fuselage and skid tubes were located between the initial impact and main wreckage. The engine was separated from the airframe and came to rest adjacent to the main wreckage. In order to prevent further damage due to tide change, the wreckage was recovered under the supervision of a FAA inspector to a secured facility at CRG.
Probable Cause: the mechanic's improper installation of the attachment hardware for the servo to swashplate push-pull tube joint which resulted in a disconnection, subsequent loss of control, and impact with terrain. Contributing factors were the company management's inadequate surveillance and enforcement of maintenance procedures, the excessive maintenance workload due to inadequate staffing of maintenance personnel, and the insufficient management of maintenance tasks.
Shannon Williams, the sister of the pilot Tamara Williams, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Silver State Helicopters on Aug. 8,[2007] alleging that her sister "was virtually certain to die" because the company didn't perform necessary maintenance on the aircraft.According to the lawsuit, Williams "experienced an in-flight control system break-up" because the helicopter company, which also repairs the aircraft, failed to "conduct a complete and thorough post-maintenance inspection on the helicopter."
Had proper maintenance been performed, the suit said, it would have identified hazards that "would lead to rotor system failure and/or loss of helicopter control."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: DEN07FA079 at https://www.ntsb.gov/about/employment/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20070405X00374&ntsbno=DEN07FA079&akey=1
2. FAA Registration: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=N744SH
4. http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/topic/5971-silver-state-helicopter-down-south-of-jacksonville/?p=62464
5. https://publicsafetyaviation.org/images/Safety_eNewsletters/2014-4_Newsletter_optimized.pdf
6. https://pamablog.typepad.com/pama/aviation_maintenance_news_of_note/page/14/
7. https://www.news4jax.com/news/ntsb-helicopter-in-fatal-crash-just-serviced
8. https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-167909206/family-sues-in-deadly-crash-of-helicopter-the-march
9. https://www.foxnews.com/story/helicopter-crash-kills-2-on-florida-beach
10. https://www.ocala.com/article/LK/20070328/news/604227043/OS/
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vedra_Beach,_Florida
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 04-Dec-2017 18:33 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Oct-2018 01:37 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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