Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cape May Court House, New Jersey 08210
Monday, August 25, 2014 10:26 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On August 25, 2014, about 1026 eastern daylight time, a Hiller UH-12E, N4035A, collided with trees and terrain during a forced landing at Cape May Court House, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was not injured, while one passenger had minor injuries. The helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was operated by Cape May County Mosquito Control. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, public use, aerial observation flight, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated at a staging area at Cape May Court House about 0845.
According to the pilot, he was assigned to mosquito observation in the local area. While flying at 300 feet above the ground, a loud bang, followed by notable vibration occurred. A sudden loss of engine power was noted and the pilot attempted an autorotation. While maneuvering to land on a nearby baseball field, the helicopter collided with trees and then the ground. There was no fire.
An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. Structural damage to the fuselage and main rotor system was confirmed. Approximately 15 gallons of fuel was recovered from the fuel tank, which was not breached. Continuity was established from the main rotor and tail rotor systems to the engine and transmission. The wreckage was recovered to an aircraft storage facility where the engine will be examined under the direction of the NTSB.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/25/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1026 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Cape May Court House |
| Event State | NEW JERSEY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 08210 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 390450N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0744937W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 1035 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 240 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | WWD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 21 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 50 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.18 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KWWD 251435Z AUTO 05011KT 10SM CLR 23/15 A30 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 3 2014 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4035A |
| NTSB Number | ERA14LA405 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | HILLER |
| Aircraft Model | UH 12E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 5195 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3100 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 15 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CAPE MAY COUNTY MOSQUITO |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 66 |
| Aircraft Owner City | CAPE MAY C H |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 082100066 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | CAPE MAY COUNTY MOSQUITO |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 66 |
| Operator City | CAPE MAY C H |
| Operator State | NJ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 082100066 |
| 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) | Aerial Observation |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | H309 |
| Departure City | Cape May CH |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 845 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | H309 |
| Destination City | Cape May CH |
| Destination State | NJ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 3 2014 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |