Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 9:30 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he was landing the helicopter in a bowl-shaped meadow surrounded by mountains and trees. While circling the landing zone to determine the surface wind and descending, about 20 feet above ground level, the helicopter encountered a wind gust. The low rotor horn sounded and the pilot regained rpm, but another wind gust from behind again resulted in a loss of rotor rpm. The pilot said he was too low to recover, so he performed a run-on landing. The helicopter struck an earthen berm and rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The elevation at the accident site was 8,411 feet; the density altitude was calculated to have been 10,059 feet. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain rotor rpm while landing in a gusty wind at a high density altitude.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/25/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 930 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Flagstaff |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86001 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 352206N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1115121W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 8411 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 930 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 145 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7018 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 16 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 18 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 29 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31969 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 6 2013 11:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N190SH |
| NTSB Number | WPR13CA424 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ROBINSON |
| Aircraft Model | R44 - II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 11694 |
| 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 | Aug 8 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Eric A. Spitzer LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Riverside |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92587 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Atherton Aviation LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mesa |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 85215 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SDL |
| Departure City | Scottsdale |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 820 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Flagstaff |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 6 2013 11:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |