Robinson R44 N7507K

Summary

On 21 October 2012 at about 18:30 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N7507K, operated by Lange Helicopters Inc., was involved in an accident near Loop, Texas, United States. 4 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 October 2012 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Loop, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.8592, -102.2892

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N7507K

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Lange Helicopters Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Loop → Loop

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA022

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate performance calculations, which resulted in an overweight takeoff for the conditions and the subsequent hard impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the accident flight, the pilot asked for the weights of passengers, fueled the helicopter accordingly, and then flew to pick up the passengers. However, when the pilot arrived to pick up the passengers, they appeared to be heavier than the weights he had used for them in his preflight planning. The pilot reported that he was able to lift off and bring the helicopter to a hover, so the helicopter seemed to have sufficient power for takeoff. However, as the helicopter flew forward over a thicket, the main rotor rpm began to decrease. The pilot lowered the nose to increase rpm. The rpm did not increase, and the helicopter impacted terrain hard and sustained substantial damage when its tailboom separated. The pilot estimated that the helicopter’s weight at the time of the accident was inside the envelope for in-ground-effect operations, but was outside the envelope for out-of-ground-effect operations. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter during the flight. The pilot stated that he should have requested that one person remain on the ground until more fuel was burned off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.