History of Flight
On October 23, 2019, about 0846 central daylight time, two Robinson R22 helicopters, N7189D and N74512, collided near Hebbronville, Texas. Both helicopters were operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 for work use flights, with the purpose of identifying and netting deer. N7189D, designated as the spotter helicopter, was tasked with locating deer and communicating their positions to N74512, the gunner helicopter, which captured deer using a net gun.
After performing initial netting operations, the gunner pilot left the area to reload net supplies. Upon returning to the operating area, the gunner pilot observed a doe near the spotter helicopter and radioed that he had it in sight. The gunner pilot estimated his altitude at about 100 ft above ground level (agl) and his position about 100 ft behind the spotter helicopter, which was at about 50 ft agl. The gunner helicopter turned right and descended toward the doe, while the spotter helicopter turned left and announced over the radio that it had spotted another deer. Shortly afterward, the gunner pilot felt an impact and brought his helicopter to a hover. He then saw the spotter helicopter descend and impact terrain. The gun operator on the gunner helicopter reported that their helicopter’s skids had separated, and the gunner pilot performed an emergency landing.
Two ground witnesses participating in deer recovery, equipped with radios to listen to the pilots, observed the impact sequence. They reported that after the gunner pilot radioed sighting the doe, the gunner helicopter turned right. The spotter helicopter initially turned left, then banked right and collided with the gunner helicopter.
Personnel Information
The spotter pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for rotorcraft-helicopter. On his most recent FAA medical certificate application, dated May 24, 2019, he reported 11,000 total flight hours and about 450 hours in the preceding 6 months.
The gunner pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating and a flight instructor certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating. He reported 35,471 total flight hours, with about 6,500 hours in the accident helicopter make and model.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The spotter helicopter came to rest in a field with scrub brush and mesquite trees, on a magnetic heading of 268° at an elevation of 580 ft mean sea level (msl). It impacted the ground in a flat, slight left-side low attitude. The main wreckage included the main rotor, tail rotor, fuselage, tail boom, and skids.
The gunner helicopter performed a landing on an adjacent roadway and came to rest on a magnetic heading of 267° at an elevation of 570 ft msl. The helicopter was intact except for separated skids and displaced lower frames. Examination revealed that the main rotor blades of the spotter helicopter contacted the skids of the descending gunner helicopter. Multiple breaks were found on the gunner helicopter’s left skid, cross tube assembly, and right skid, and the lower frame assembly near the engine was also damaged.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy on the spotter pilot, conducted by the County of Nueces Office of the Medical Examiner, determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma and noted the presence of an intact saccular berry aneurysm in the pilot’s brain. Toxicology testing by the Medical Examiner found codeine at 18.9 ng/mL, ethanol at 0.088 g/dL, and tramadol at 188 ng/mL, along with caffeine, nicotine, and cotinine. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol at 101 mg/dL in subclavian blood, 104 mg/dL in vitreous, and 121 mg/dL in urine; methanol in blood, vitreous, and urine; codeine at 7 mg/dL in urine, 20 ng/mL in blood, and 7,279 ng/mL in urine; tramadol at 220 ng/mL in blood; desmethyltramadol in blood and urine; citalopram in blood; N-desmethylcitalopram in blood and urine; acetaminophen in blood and urine; and ranitidine in blood and urine. Morphine was negative in blood but detected in urine. The laboratory noted that ethanol can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance; codeine is habit-forming and may impair mental and/or physical abilities for hazardous tasks; tramadol carries a warning of impairment; citalopram can also impair abilities; and ranitidine is an antihistamine used for stomach acid.