Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Lantana Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lantana, Florida 33406
Monday, May 5, 2003 16:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was hovering when it descended and collided with the ground. The pilot/owner stated that the accident occurred during an orientation flight, and as he took off, he had about 21 gallons of fuel on board. He said that along with the fuel and he and his passenger the helicopter was slightly over weight for the density altitude. He said that all they could do were some hovering maneuvers until enough fuel had been expended and the weight was reduced. He stated that he performed maneuvers while demonstrating how difficult it was to hold rotor rpm, and subsequently turned the helicopter controls over to the pilot-rated passenger, later taking control of the helicopter only when the crash was imminent. The pilot rated passenger stated that he met the pilot/owner of the accident helicopter on the day of the accident, and the pilot/owner invited him to go for a ride. He said he was seated in the left seat, and the pilot/owner was seated in the right seat, and that the pilot/owner was the one flying the helicopter. Information supplied by the pilot/owner showed that he had possessed a commercial rotorcraft certificate, and had accumulated a total of 139 rotorcraft flight hours in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. The pilot-rated passenger possessed a rotorcraft instructor rating and at the time of the accident, said he had a total of 950 total rotorcraft flight hours, of which 6 flight hours were in a Bell 206. The pilot rated passenger's remaining flight hours were in Robinson helicopters. The passenger stated that the accident flight was his first time in a Brantly helicopter.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot/owner's failure to maintain rotor rpm which resulted in a loss of control. Contributing factors were high gross weight and high density altitude.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/5/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1630 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lantana |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33406 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 263518N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0800448W |
| Event Location Airport | Lantana |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LNA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 17 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PBI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 19 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1400 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13708 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 5 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1730 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 23 2003 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2141U |
| NTSB Number | MIA03LA104 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Brantly |
| Aircraft Model | B-2B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 191 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 10 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 2 |
| Airframe Hours | 3337 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Wellness Associates Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 905 N. Harbor City Boulevard |
| Aircraft Owner City | Melbourne |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32935 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | LNA |
| Departure City | Lantana |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1630 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Hover - out of ground effect |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 22 2003 1:53PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |