Private Property Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Juan Batista, California 95045
Thursday, October 29, 2009 12:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter pilot stated that he was landing in an open field on his property to attend a meeting. Upon arrival at the field, he performed an aerial survey of his intended landing site checking for wires or obstacles. He also evaluated the weather, which was clear with a calm wind. After landing, he noted that the group of people he was meeting with was on the other side of a ditch about 50 yards away, so he decided to hover-taxi closer to their location. As the helicopter traversed over the ditch, the pilot surveyed the area looking for wires and obstacles. Seeing none, he proceeded to make a turn to land. As the pilot initiated the turn, he saw power lines about 40 feet in front of and above the helicopter. He made a quick right turn to avoid the power lines, "but made contact with the tail rotor…." Not knowing the damage to the tail rotor, he lowered the collective and landed as quickly as possible from an altitude of about 8 feet. The pilot stated that, in his urgency to shut down the helicopter, he "dropped the collective very fast," which he stated caused the main rotor blades to impact the tail boom. The pilot also stated that he got out of his normal routine of performing a pre-landing inspection of his intended landing area when he decided to hover-taxi to an alternate location. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from wires while maneuvering and his subsequent improper use of the collective control, which resulted in the main rotor contacting the tail boom.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/29/2009
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City San Juan Batista
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95045
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363731N
Event Location Longitude 1214020W
Event Location Airport Private Property
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
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 Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
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 --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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) 26999
NTSB Notification Source FAA SJC FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 1 2010 4:17PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N144RF
NTSB Number WPR10CA193
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name ROBINSON
Aircraft Model R44
Aircraft Series Identifier UNDESIGNAT
Aircraft Serial Number 1223
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 15 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 219
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Rio Farms
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City King City
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93930
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Rio Farms
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City King City
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 93930
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 CIC
Departure City King City
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City San Juan Batista
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 1 2010 4:17PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --