ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 181837
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| Date: | Tuesday 24 November 2015 |
| Time: | 03:15 UTC |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Spitzer Helicopter LLC |
| Registration: | N346VH |
| MSN: | 2261 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Sepulveda Pass, Santa Monica, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | |
| Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys, California (VNY/KVNY) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Two Pilots were on board the Robinson R22 Beta helicopter during a training flight and saw an object which impacted the windscreen, approximately at an altitude of 800 feet AGL in the Sepulveda Pass, Santa Monica, California. The flight instructor, on the left seat, sustained cuts on his hands and knees. There were no feathers or blood on the windscreen.
The pilots diverted to Van Nuys airport, and landed safely. The FAA has the incident under investigation. LA Helicopters chief pilot, Guillaume Maillet said the windshield was severely damaged. The impact created a big hole in the bubble, and the instructor pilot suffered cuts on his hands and knees when the Plexiglas windshield broke.
G. Maillet said that none of the 2 pilots saw the object, which was unlit. He thinks, because of the lack of feathers or blood on the windshield, it was a drone. Maillet said he had been on board a Robinson helicopter traveling at 110 knots when it was involved in a collision with birds, and there was no damage to the windshield. This plane, he said, was traveling at approximately 70 knots "and the extent of damage without evidence of a bird strike said he thinks it is a drone," he said.
Sources:
1. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=346VH
2. http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/Possible-drone-collides-with-helicopter-in-Los-Angeles
3. https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N346VH
4. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n346vh
5. https://flightaware.com/photos/view/563408-950fbc16062cc3b0502bfab49ecd72433c71f954/aircrafttype/R22
6. http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=604e6881-4cc1-4f75-b2bc-d6a41b240dbc
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Nov-2015 17:19 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 18-Oct-2016 20:17 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 16-Aug-2018 15:43 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
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