Cessna 172D N2755U

Summary

On 8 March 2014 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 172D registered N2755U, operated by Gone Broke LLC, was involved in an accident near Fairhope, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 March 2014 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairhope, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

H L Sonny Callahan (CQF)

Coordinates

30.4606, -87.8769

Aircraft

Cessna 172D

Registration

N2755U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Gone Broke LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pensacola → Fairhope

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA147

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate separation from a helicopter during the approach to landing, which resulted in an encounter with the helicopter’s trailing vortices, a loss of airplane control, and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern behind a large helicopter and that he followed the helicopter closely in the traffic pattern. While on short final approach, the airplane remained behind the helicopter as the helicopter was terminating its approach about three-quarters down the runway. When the airplane was about 30 ft above the approach end of the runway, it banked and pitched suddenly, and it then impacted the ground. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation nor were any found during a postaccident examination of the wreckage. A simulation modeling the helicopter's trailing vortex-generating tendencies showed that vortices of significant strength were likely present at the airplane's reported position at the time of the upset. If the pilot had maintained adequate separation from the large helicopter during the approach to landing, the airplane likely would not have encountered the trailing vortices that caused the loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.