Accident Overview
On March 2, 2021, about 1539 Alaska standard time, a Robinson Helicopter Company R66 helicopter, registration N1767, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident about 70 nautical miles north of Kodiak, Alaska. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not located. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Flight Details
According to the pilot’s wife, her husband owned Kodiak Helicopters, LLC, which owned and operated the helicopter. She stated that he had requested the use of the helicopter from a company employee to make a trip to see family located in Kodiak. The pilot had just returned from an out-of-state trip and went directly to Merrill Field Airport (MRI), Anchorage, where the helicopter was located.
A pilot for Kodiak Helicopters reported that he was contacted earlier in the day by the accident pilot, who said he needed the helicopter for the next few days. The Kodiak Helicopters pilot flew the helicopter from Palmer, Alaska, to MRI and filled it with fuel. He had brief contact with the accident pilot, noting that the accident pilot seemed distracted and was “not himself.” The accident pilot mentioned that a local newspaper was set to publish a story about him and he wanted to be with his family in Kodiak when the story broke.
The helicopter departed MRI at 1406 with a planned destination of Kodiak Airport (ADQ). The Kodiak Helicopters pilot viewed the helicopter’s en route progress via Spidertracks, a real-time tracking system. At 1539, the helicopter’s Spidertracks data stopped in an area south of the Barren Islands over open ocean waters.
Archived Spidertracks data revealed that after departure, the helicopter flew south down the Kenai Peninsula and then out over the ocean on course for Kodiak. At 1539, the last data point was recorded as the helicopter passed between Ushagat Island and West Amatuli Islands (two of the Barren Islands), at an altitude of 394 ft mean sea level (msl), on a heading of 186°, and at a groundspeed of 132 knots.
Search and Rescue
About 1630, the Kodiak Helicopters pilot and the pilot’s wife began inquiries to see if the helicopter had arrived in Kodiak. Unable to locate the helicopter, they contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to initiate an organized search. An FAA Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued, and an extensive search was launched.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) dispatched a rescue helicopter that located an inflated yellow pop-out float believed to be from the accident helicopter. The USCG stated that an emergency locator transmitter beacon was not received from the accident helicopter. No distress calls were reported. The search continued with additional SAR assets; however, minimal debris believed to be from the helicopter was observed in the water. The search was suspended on March 3, 2021, about 1130.
Debris Recovery
Days after the accident, pilots of an air charter company based in Kodiak discovered debris on a beach near Afognak Island, Alaska, about 42 nm north of Kodiak. The debris was recovered and found to be part of the helicopter’s float, skid tube, and fuselage structure. No other wreckage was located.
Weather Conditions
Review of weather data indicated that an area of low cloud cover was located along most of the accident flight path on the western portion of the Kenai Peninsula. Observations from Seldovia Airport (PASO), about 37 nautical miles north-northeast of the accident site, indicated marginal visual flight rules (MVFR) to instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions prevailed. Weather satellite imagery showed scattered to broken cloud cover as the helicopter approached the Barren Islands.
A marine station on East Amatuli Island, about 6 miles east-northeast of the accident site, reported a northwest wind gusting to 27 knots at the time of the accident. At the time the helicopter passed near Nanwalek, Alaska, about 30 nautical miles north of the accident site, between 1523 to 1526, FAA Aviation Weather Cameras indicated cloud bases near or below 850 ft msl from the south-facing camera, and near but above 650 ft msl from the southwest-facing camera. Visibility below the cloud base was above 3 statute miles based on the south-facing camera imagery.
No preflight weather briefings or air traffic services were provided to the pilot, according to FAA data.