Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Monroe, Louisiana 71292
Wednesday, May 10, 2006 16:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 17,000-hour helicopter commercial pilot, sole occupant of the single-engine helicopter, was attempting to land on a landing cart. The pilot stated that the landing cart is normally used to facilitate moving the helicopter in and out of the hangar. On the day of the accident, the small tractor that is normally connected to the cart was not attached and that the cart wheels were not secured. Upon a normal landing on the stationary cart, the cart began to move towards a hangar. The pilot was unable to re-establish rotor RPM in time to stop the movement of the cart, and the main rotor blades impacted the hangar. The pilot reported having accumulated a total of 700 hours in the same make and model. The hangar was substantially damaged.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of control while taxiing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/10/2006
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City West Monroe
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71292
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 322830N
Event Location Longitude 0920735W
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
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KMLU
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.65
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20334
NTSB Notification Source ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 10 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 BTR FSDO, Baton Rouge, LA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N144DJ
NTSB Number DFW06CA124
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Robinson
Aircraft Model R-44
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1183
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 May 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 978
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name D & J Contstruction Company, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 1889
Aircraft Owner City West Monroe
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71292
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) Executive/Corporate
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KARA
Departure City New Iberia
Departure State LA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City West Monroe
Destination State LA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 26 2006 5:28PM
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 --