Robinson R44 RAVEN II N288RH

Summary

On 3 May 2006 at about 00:45 local time, a Robinson R44 RAVEN II registered N288RH, operated by Andrew Weldon Mayes, was involved in an accident near Rocky Point, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 May 2006 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Rocky Point, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

34.4453, -77.8814

Aircraft

Robinson R44 RAVEN II

Registration

N288RH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Andrew Weldon Mayes

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Myrtle Beach → Burgaw

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ATL06CA073

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate visual lookout during a precautionary landing which resulted in an in-flight collision with a transmission wire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during his return flight the tail rotor chip detector light flickered and then came on and stayed on. He said he was familiar with the flight area and knew there was a fire department near his intended landing site. He elected to perform a precautionary landing near the fire department to inspect the helicopter. During the landing he failed to observe a TV transmission line, struck the line, nosed down from about 5-feet AGL, rolled to the left and impacted the ground. The pilot further stated that he was "impacted by a strong lateral wind gust from the east which swung the tail rotor into the low hanging cable. However, the nearest weather reporting facility did not report wind gusts at the time of the accident. The pilot also stated that there was "not a mechanical malfunction".

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.