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Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chugiak, Alaska 99567
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 14:33 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On May 28, 2014, at 1433 Alaska daylight time, N392GP, a Robinson R44 II helicopter, collided with the ground and caught fire while maneuvering for landing during an external-load flight at Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the helicopter was destroyed by the ground impact and post-impact fire. The flight was operated by Global Positioning Services, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The local flight departed Birchwood Airport about 1315.
According to an operator's representative, the pilot had been conducting practice flights with a 150-foot long-line attached to a fluid-filled, 55-gallon barrel in preparation for an upcoming project. Several witnesses at the airport said that they saw the helicopter flying on the day of the accident with the barrel suspended beneath it by the long-line. One witness who was flying his airplane on short final for runway 20 when the accident occurred had heard the helicopter pilot communicating on the airport common traffic advisory frequency, providing regular position reports as he maneuvered the helicopter. That witness saw the helicopter maneuver from a hover over the end of runway 20 with the barrel suspended on the long-line to the area east of the runway on the ramp near where the accident occurred. Other witnesses reported that the ramp location is where the pilot typically sets down the barrel and lands the helicopter. The airplane pilot reported that he saw the nose of the helicopter pitch up before it rolled to the left, descended, and impacted the ground. Other witnesses on the ground reported hearing two loud "bang" sounds a few seconds apart and said that, when they looked to see what made the sound, they saw the helicopter on the ground in flames.
Initial examination of the helicopter at the accident site revealed that the fuselage came to rest on its left side on a gravel road adjacent to the paved airport ramp, and much of the cockpit and cabin structures were consumed by fire. The tail boom and tail rotor were on the ground aft of the burned fuselage. The main rotor mast assembly with the main rotor hub attached was found separated on the ground several feet away from the fuselage and engine. One main rotor blade was separated outboard of the hub near the blade root, and the other main rotor blade was attached in its entirety and damaged. All separated pieces of main rotor blade were located at the accident site. The length of a linear ground scar near the fuselage was consistent with the length of a main rotor blade. The barrel with which the pilot had been practicing was found on its side in the grass adjacent to the airport ramp. The long-line was attached to the barrel and was not attached to the helicopter's pilot-controlled, belly-mounted cargo hook.
The closest official weather observation station is located at the Birchwood Airport. At 1416, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, 300 degrees (true) at 3 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, clear; temperature, 57 degrees F; dew point, 43 degrees F; altimeter, 30.10 inHg.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/28/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1433 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Chugiak |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99567 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 612504N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1493003W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| 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 | 1416 AKD |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BCV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | AKD |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC - Anchorage |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 30 2014 8:19PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N392GP |
| NTSB Number | ANC14FA030 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY |
| Aircraft Model | R44 II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 11238 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | -- |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GLOBAL POSITIONING SERVICES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ANCHORAGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 995032623 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | GLOBAL POSITIONING SERVICES INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ANCHORAGE |
| Operator State | AK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 995032623 |
| 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 | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | External Load |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BCV |
| Departure City | Chugiak |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1433 |
| Departure Time Zone | AKD |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | BCV |
| Destination City | Chugiak |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 30 2014 8:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |