Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Drummond, Wisconsin 54832
Saturday, September 24, 2005 11:05 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was being operated for hire providing rides during a festival when it struck a power line over a lake. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. A witness stated that he heard the helicopter for approximately one minute and during that time he heard a pitch change, heard the revolutions per minute increase, and then heard the crash. The power line was at a height approximately equal to the height of the trees surrounding the lake. According to the operator, no safety briefings were given to ride passengers and the helicopter was not shut down when passengers were loaded and unloaded. A previous ride passenger stated that when he arrived on the morning of the accident, there was no safe area delineated around the helicopter and no safety briefing given. This witness stated that the engine was running when the pilot got out of the helicopter in order to secure the passenger's seatbelts. There had been a written complaint regarding the operator when a witness saw the helicopter being operated in a "manner contrary to all safety guidelines outlined in the manufacturer's Safety Course and Special Federal Aviation Regulation 73.1." The owner of the company stated that after that they no longer provided a "wild" ride. Examination of the helicopter's flight control and propulsion system revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the helicopter’s seat belt buckles revealed fatigue fracture within the buckle, which was later addressed in a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin and the helicopter manufacturer's service bulletin.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Clearance not obtained/maintained by the pilot during an unknown phase of flight. Contributing factors were the improper use of procedures by the pilot, the inadequate surveillance of the operation by company/management, and the wire.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/24/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1105 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Drummond |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 54832 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 225 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HYR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1213 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 17 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 130 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 22171 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 24 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 27 2007 11:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Milwaukee FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9158U |
| NTSB Number | CHI05FA274 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Robinson |
| Aircraft Model | R44 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0604 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2500 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 78.9 |
| Airframe Hours | 1789.9 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Midstate Aviation Inc. (Midstate Helicopters Inc.) |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 16326 Highway 65 NE |
| Aircraft Owner City | Ham Lake |
| Aircraft Owner State | MN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 55304 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Drummond |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| 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 | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 13 2007 12:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |