Burlington Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burlington, Wisconsin 53105
Saturday, February 28, 2004 12:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter sustained substantial damage when it impacted the ground after contacting a power line and pole during takeoff. The pilot's accident report stated, "I cleared the area did a slow vertical liftoff and a left pedal turn. I was instantly in the wires which were [approximately] 10-12 [feet] north of depot and [approximately] 14-15 [feet] high. Obviously I didn't see the wires and have never seen wires that close to a fuel depot. ... The tail rotor got in the wires first and actually 'reeled' me backwards into the pole. Then the main rotor made contact. Then we hit the ground. It took me a few seconds to kill the engine as we were being bounced around so violently." His safety recommendation was, "The wires should at the very least been marked or identified in some way. (sign, placard) Most importantly they shouldn't have been so close to fuel depot 15-20 [feet] or so low. They should have been underground."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and his failure to obtain/maintain clearance from the transmission wire during the takeoff. Factors contributing to the accident were the transmission wire and the pole.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Burlington
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53105
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 424126N
Event Location Longitude 0881816W
Event Location Airport BURLINGTON MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BUU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 779
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1254 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BUU
Elevation of weather observation facility 779
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 18
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.32
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report urlington Municipal Airport Burlington, Wisconsin
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16047
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1254
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA - Milwaukee, WI, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7184G
NTSB Number CHI04LA079
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 R44
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0937
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
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 4
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 140
Airframe Hours 140
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeff J Johnston
Aircraft Owner Street Address 804 N Kellogg Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Howell
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48843
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BUU
Departure City Burlington Muni
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code C02
Destination City LAKE GENEVA
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jun 24 2004 5:39PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --