Accident Overview
On January 26, 2018, about 1140 mountain standard time, a Robinson R44 II helicopter, registration N878BC, and a Beech A36 airplane, registration N777YF, collided while on approach to the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (KFNL) in Loveland, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The helicopter was owned and operated by a private individual; the airplane was owned and operated by Landsgaard Equipment Leasing LLC.
Sequence of Events
The helicopter departed Century Helicopters Heliport (0CO7) at 1100, and the airplane departed Greeley-Weld County Airport (KGXY) at 1110. Both intended to land at KFNL. According to the helicopter pilot, he announced on the common traffic advisory frequency his intention to fly the RNAV GPS approach for runway 33. A National Guard UH60 helicopter was conducting an ILS 33 approach with a missed approach and departure from the area. The helicopter pilot informed them of his plan to perform the RNAV GPS 33 approach, execute the published missed approach, and then enter the holding pattern. He heard the airplane pilot ask the UH60 about their intentions; they replied they would be close to the end during the missed approach. The helicopter pilot continued the approach, and the airplane pilot called that he was on downwind, had the helicopter in sight, and would extend the downwind. The helicopter pilot replied he would fly the missed approach and return. The airplane pilot responded "good." While descending, the airplane pilot asked if the helicopter pilot was stopping there; the helicopter pilot replied he was still descending and then intended to fly the missed approach. The airplane pilot stated he was passing overhead. Shortly after, the helicopter and airplane collided.
According to the airplane pilot, he approached KFNL from the east and announced his position 6–7 miles out. He coordinated with other traffic and announced crossing the field for left downwind for runway 33. While on downwind, he lowered the landing gear. He heard another pilot announce a straight-in approach for 33; the airplane pilot saw the aircraft at higher altitude, 4–5 miles out. He offered to extend the downwind to allow the aircraft to complete its missed approach. On base turn to final, he realized the other aircraft was a helicopter. The helicopter continued its approach, and when it was over the airport fence, the airplane turned onto final. About 4 miles south of the runway, the airplane pilot observed the helicopter hovering south of the runway threshold, about ½ to ¾ mile from the runway end. He queried the helicopter pilot, who said he would hover for a bit and then depart east. The airplane pilot replied "okay" and stated he would fly over the helicopter for a full-stop landing; the helicopter pilot responded "okay." The airplane pilot then proceeded to land. During the approach, he lost sight of the helicopter. Expecting it to remain hovering south of the runway, he continued to descend and collided with the helicopter. The helicopter descended, impacted terrain, and rolled onto its right side, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and tailboom. After the collision, the airplane pilot saw a gear indicator showing an unsafe right main landing gear. The airplane touched down on the left main gear, and the pilot kept the right wing up as long as possible. As the airplane slowed, the damaged right main gear touched down, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway, coming to rest in adjacent grass.
Post-Incident Findings
The responding Federal Aviation Administration Inspector auditioned audio from the UNICOM frequency and did not hear the helicopter pilot transmit an intention to hover. The airplane pilot stated that east of runway 33/15 is where local helicopter traffic usually performs training, so he expected this helicopter to do the same.