No fatalities

29 Nov 2017: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 II — New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, LA, United States

On 29 Nov 2017, a ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 II was involved in an aviation accident near New Orleans, LA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s failure to land the helicopter with both skids on the trailer platform, which resulted in a loss of control. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A helicopter pilot reported striking the tail rotor on the ground while positioning the helicopter on a trailer, then climbing and descending, leading to a main rotor blade strike and impact with the pavement.

Incident Overview

A helicopter pilot reported that, while positioning the helicopter on a trailer for maintenance, the aircraft landed on the trailer with the left skid off the platform. During this maneuver, the tail rotor struck the ground. The pilot then added that the helicopter climbed about 50 feet and he reduced power. During the subsequent descent, the main rotor blade struck the tail boom, and the helicopter impacted the pavement.

Damage Assessment

The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor blades.

Mechanical Condition

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotPerformance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Effect on operation