Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

North Las Vegas, Nevada 89032
Sunday, June 1, 2003 11:20 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter collided with a wire during high reconnaissance operations for a pinnacle approach. The pilot was on his third pattern around the pinnacle when the helicopter collided with a wire that was strung from a pole to the side of a mountain. The wire wrapped around the main rotor swash plate and the pilot entered an autorotation onto a hillside. The tail rotor and boom were damaged upon touchdown. The pilot estimated his altitude was 400 feet above ground level (agl) when the collision occurred.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/1/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1120
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City North Las Vegas
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89032
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361200N
Event Location Longitude 1151100W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 160
Weather Observation Facility ID KLAS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2181
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 34
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.88
Density Altitude (feet) 6614
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16361
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1310
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-LAS-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N991RW
NTSB Number LAX03LA177
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 Robinson
Aircraft Model R22 Beta
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3451
Certified Max Gross Weight 1370
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 May 23 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9.8
Airframe Hours 14.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Silver State Helicopters
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2722 Perimeter Road
Aircraft Owner City North Las Vegas
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89032
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KVGT
Departure City North Las Vegas
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KVGT
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2004 3:21PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --