Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Darien St. Pierre And Miquelon
Saturday, November 8, 2003 9:45 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On November 8, 2003, about 0945 eastern standard time, a Robinson R-44 Raven II, Panamanian registration HP-1481, registered to and operated by Helipan Corporation, as an air taxi flight, struck trees and collided with the ground while maneuvering to avoid clouds at Canglon, Provincia de Darien, Panama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and flight plan information was not available. The helicopter was destroyed, the commercial-rated pilot and one of passenger were seriously injured, one passenger received minor injuries, and the third passenger incurred fatal injuries. The flight originated from Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport, Albrook, Panama, about 0820, that morning.
Preliminary information received by the NTSB indicated the pilot was about 7 minutes out from the destination when he encountered clouds. He maneuvered and descended to avoid the clouds, struck trees and consequently collided with the terrain.
The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Panama. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Departamento Seguridad Avaicion
Investigation Accidente,
Panama, Republica de Panama
011-507-315-9102
011-507-315-9134
eperez@mail.aeronautica.gob.pa
This report is for information purposes only and contains only information obtained for
or released by the Panamanian Government.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/8/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 945 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Darien |
| Event State | -- |
| Event Country | ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON |
| Zipcode of the event site | -- |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 082100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0770207W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MPMG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 30000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1800 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 24 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | Foreign |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | Search and Rescue Authorities |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 10 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 2 2003 3:32PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA Miami International |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | -- |
| NTSB Number | MIA04WA021 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Non-U.S., Commercial |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | -- |
| Aircraft Explosion | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Robinson |
| Aircraft Model | R-44 Raven II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | -- |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Albrook, Panama |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | PM |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MPMG |
| Departure City | Albrook |
| Departure State | -- |
| Departure Country | PM |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Darien |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | PM |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 2 2003 3:32PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |