Robinson R44 N7187D

Summary

On 18 June 2019 at about 00:30 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N7187D was involved in an accident near Two Harbors, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 June 2019 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Two Harbors, California, United States

Coordinates

33.4628, -118.5747

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N7187D

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Ana → Torance

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19FA175

1 person died.

The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the helicopter was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight from which he failed to return as planned. Radar data depicted the helicopter about 375 ft above ground level and 117 knots with no sudden airspeed or altitude diversions before it impacted an island hillside. The wreckage was located the following day, significantly fragmented and consumed by a postimpact fire. Ground scars and the wreckage distribution were consistent with collision with terrain in a level flight attitude. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter. Review of weather information supported instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) over the area of the accident site and an environment conducive to cloud development below 1,000 ft mean sea level. Satellite data showed that, during the accident timeframe, the northwestern part of the island (where the accident site was located) was affected by cloud cover, although most of the rest of the island was not, or the cloud coverage was not as extensive. The weather information that the pilot may have accessed before the flight could not be determined; however, reports available to him likely depicted higher cloud bases than those present over the accident site at the time of the accident. A first responder reported that low ceilings and visibility were common for the area for that time of year, and typically formed in the early evening hours and persisted overnight into the morning. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s continued VFR flight into a localized area of IMC, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.