N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Macedonia, Iowa 51549
Saturday, September 6, 2014 12:09 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On September 6, 2014, about 1245 central daylight time, a Robinson R44 II helicopter, N699TQ, impacted a suspended power line near Macedonia, Iowa. The pilot was fatally injured and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to Mills County Choppers, Inc. and operated by Johnson Helicopter Services under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated at an unknown time. The responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector stated that witnesses observed the helicopter strike the power lines and then impact terrain. The pilot was able to egress the wreckage and was flown to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injures on September 11, 2014. A GPS was recovered from the accident site and was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Recorders Lab for download.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/6/2014
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1209
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Macedonia
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 51549
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 411057N
Event Location Longitude 0953218W
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1715 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 295
Weather Observation Facility ID KCBF
Elevation of weather observation facility 1253
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.3
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KCBF 061715Z AUTO 08004KT 10SM CLR 19/10 A30
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
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
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 6 2014 9:30AM
User who most recently changed record linj-i
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N699TQ
NTSB Number CEN14LA487
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
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 HELICOPTER COMPANY
Aircraft Model R44 II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 10385
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 --
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 MILLS COUNTY CHOPPERS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1674 200TH ST
Aircraft Owner City RED OAK
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 515664417
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Johnson Helicopter Services
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Macedonia
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Macedonia
Destination State IA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 9 2014 2:11PM
User who most recently changed record broda
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 --