Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Payne Springs, Texas 75124
Sunday, May 28, 2006 10:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A 1,350-hour private helicopter pilot verified that the helicopter's fuel tanks were full, free of contamination, and the engine oil level was "normal" prior to departure. The pilot and 2 passengers then departed for a private residence located near a lake; no abnormalities were noted during departure or en route to the residence. The pilot reported, "that within a few miles of his destination, he reduced power to 21 inches and gradually descended to 900 feet mean sea level (msl)". Without any indication of a problem, the engine lost power. The pilot lowered collective just as the low-rotor warning light illuminated and horn sounded. The pilot flared about 50 feet above the water; however, the helicopter impacted the surface of the water with "significant force". The helicopter was retrieved from the lake and a visual inspection of the engine failed to note any pre-impact abnormalities. An external power source was connected to the helicopter, and the "manual override" was used to disengage the engine and rotor/transmission. The engine was then turned by hand; thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders and engine continuity was established through the engine. Additionally, the carburetor heat control was found in the "automatic" position. A review of the Carburetor Icing chart reveals that the temperature/dew point spread, puts the flight in the "Serious icing - descent power" operating realm. A check of the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) fuel records revealed that on 27 May, 2006, the helicopter was filled with 38.5 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. On 29 June, 2006, under the supervision of an NTSB representative, an additional examination of the engine was conducted at the factory. Both the ignition and fuel systems were checked. The engine was removed from the airframe, placed in an engine test cell and prepared for an engine run. The engine was run at various power settings for 20 minutes. A reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/28/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1015 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Payne Springs |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 75124 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| 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 | 953 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TRL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 16 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20351 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 30 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 3 2006 2:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Dallas, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N42KJ |
| NTSB Number | DFW06LA141 |
| 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 | 1452 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 145 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KJ Helicopter Service, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 909 Lake Carolyn Pkwy, Suite 150 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Irving |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75039 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | James Roden |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | T57 |
| Departure City | GARLAND |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 949 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Payne Springs |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 13 2006 3:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |