Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601
Tuesady, March 1, 2011 10:40 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot refueled his helicopter and was performing a takeoff from an area near the airport’s fuel pumps. As the helicopter began to lift, the pilot allowed the helicopter’s tail to remain in a low attitude. As a result, the aft end of the left skid contacted the ground and the helicopter experienced a dynamic rollover. The helicopter came to rest on its left side, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s improper takeoff procedure, which resulted in a dynamic rollover when the left skid contacted the ground.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/1/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1040 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Glenwood Springs |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 81601 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 393022N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1071832W |
| Event Location Airport | Glenwood Springs Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | GWS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 5916 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| 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) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Light and Variable |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| 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) | 28510 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 2 2011 4:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bakd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N74816 |
| NTSB Number | CEN11CA213 |
| 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 HELICOPTER COMPANY |
| Aircraft Model | R44 II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 10982 |
| 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 | Feb 11 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 486 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | 244 Charlie Delta LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Carbondale |
| Aircraft Owner State | CO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 81623 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | 244 Charlie Delta LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Carbondale |
| Operator State | CO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 81623 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | GWS |
| Departure City | Gleenwood Springs |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Carbondale |
| Destination State | CO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 27 2011 10:25AM |
| User who most recently changed record | lebt |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |