Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Goldsboro - Private Helipad Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Goldsboro, North Carolina 27530
Wednesday, July 28, 2004 7:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he executed a landing on a concrete helipad that was elevated approximately six inches above the ground. He stated the helicopter touched down slightly off center, and he attempted to reposition the helicopter on the pad. The pilot stated that, during repositioning, the rear of the skids went off the rear of the pad, the helicopter tilted backward, and the tail rotor struck the ground. Examination of the accident site revealed the concrete helipad was approximately 13 feet long and 13 feet wide, and the width between the helicopter's skids was seven feet. Examination of the helicopter revealed the ninety-degree gearbox was separated, the tail rotor was separated and fragmented, and the lower portion of the vertical fin was crushed. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the helicopter.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point during landing on a helipad with an exposed edge, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/28/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 730 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Goldsboro |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27530 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 352206N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0780510W |
| Event Location Airport | Goldsboro - private helipad |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PVT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 100 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 851 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KRDU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 435 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 40 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1954 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KRDU 281251Z 25003KT 6SM BR SCT007 BKN120 BK |
| 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) | 17261 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 28 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1620 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 24 2005 9:13AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Greensboro FSDO - 05 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N442RD |
| NTSB Number | ATL04LA155 |
| 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 Helicopter Co. |
| Aircraft Model | R44 II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 10237 |
| 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 | Oct 28 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 68 |
| Airframe Hours | 68 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Carolina Kidney, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2809 McLamb Pl |
| Aircraft Owner City | Goldsboro |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27534 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Robert Braden Dunmire III |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 700 Mill Road |
| Operator City | Goldsboro |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 27534 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Emerald Isle |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 700 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | PVT |
| Destination City | Goldsboro |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Unknown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | 13 |
| Runway Width | 13 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |