History of Flight
On May 14, 2023, at an unknown time, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration N40506, was substantially damaged during a crash near Brady, Texas. The non-certificated pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, but evidence suggested there was no intent for flight as defined by 49 CFR § 830.2, and accordingly, the event was not classified as an accident.
There were no witnesses to the crash. According to one of the pilot's daughters, the pilot regularly attended a Sunday morning church service at 1100 in Brady, Texas. On the morning of the crash, he was not seen at the church service. After unsuccessful attempts to reach him by phone, a family member asked a neighbor to check on the pilot at his residence, where the helicopter wreckage and pilot were found near the house. The pilot was reportedly wearing his church clothes and dress boots.
Personnel Information
A search of FAA airman certification records found no record of a pilot certificate ever being issued to the pilot. The pilot's family provided a pilot logbook that contained a combined FAA third-class medical and student pilot certificate dated February 3, 1970. The medical/student pilot certificate was expired. The final logbook entry was a 90-day solo endorsement for a Cessna 172 airplane dated January 17, 1971. No flights in a helicopter were recorded in the logbook. According to the pilot's family, he had served in the US Army but in a non-pilot role. The pilot's baseline ability to fly helicopters could not be assessed with the available documentation.
Aircraft Information
The last annual inspection of the helicopter was completed on October 10, 2003, at 3,449.7 total airframe hours. No maintenance actions were documented after that inspection. At the time of the crash, the airframe total time was 3,527.0 hours, and the engine total time since new and time since overhaul were 4,035.7 hours and 1,527.3 hours, respectively.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The helicopter was found on its right side, facing west, about 15 ft from the north wall of the house. It was about 70 ft southwest from a concrete pad used for ground operations. Ground handling wheels and a hand truck associated with a battery charger were found beside the concrete pad. The battery charger and its jumper cables were found about 60 ft from the concrete pad against the rear right tire of a white sedan parked beside the helicopter wreckage. The hood and roof of the sedan exhibited fresh dirt deposits.
A small truck, full-sized recreational vehicle, and two steel drums were located between the concrete pad and the wreckage. Based on ground impact marks and wreckage distribution, the helicopter ascended at least 7 ft to clear these obstacles before impacting the ground near the house.
The pilot-side cabin door separated from the fuselage during impact and was found about 20 ft from the main wreckage. The right door hinges did not have retaining rings installed. The passenger side cabin door remained closed, latched, and undamaged. According to first responders, the pilot was found in the right side of the cabin with his torso still seated, and he was not wearing the available seat restraints.
Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cyclic and collective to the swashplate assembly, where both ears exhibited fracture features consistent with overstress. The cyclic friction was on, and the collective friction control was off. Tail rotor flight control continuity was confirmed from the anti-torque pedals to the tail rotor blades.
Both main rotor blades were bowed upward with chordwise creases throughout their span. Both blades had rough score marks along their leading edge from mid-span to the tip. The tail rotor blades exhibited normal wear with no impact damage.
The main transmission and tail rotor gear box rotated freely. The tail rotor drive shaft remained intact. The V-belts were in place on the lower sheave and positioned one groove forward on the upper sheave. The engine started and operated normally during postcrash runs. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were found.
The main fuel tank contained about 4 gallons of fuel, and the auxiliary tank contained unusable fuel. The gascolator bowl was full of blue fuel with no water or debris, having the odor of 100 low-lead aviation fuel. The fuel shutoff valve was found open.
A short chain loop was installed on the landing skid aft cross tube. According to the pilot's family, to move the helicopter on the ground, he would connect an electric winch cable to this chain loop. If he intended to fly, he would remove the loop before flight. The winch cable was not connected to the chain loop at the time of the crash and was found on the shed floor undamaged.
Medical and Pathological Information
The 93-year-old pilot had an extensive past medical history, including a stroke in 2019 with residual left upper extremity weakness, Parkinson's disease, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, degenerative arthritis, chronic kidney disease, and recurrent urinary tract infections. During a January 2023 hospital admission, he was diagnosed with moderate senile dementia. His medications included carbidopa/levodopa, atorvastatin, gabapentin, aspirin, finasteride, and levothyroxine.
Autopsy results indicated the cause of death was blunt force head and chest trauma, and the manner of death was accident. The heart showed severe calcific coronary artery disease with significant stenosis, prior myocardial infarction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and biventricular dilatation. The aorta had severe calcific atherosclerotic disease.
Toxicological testing detected ethanol in blood at 0.06 gm/dL, but not in vitreous fluid or urine, suggesting possible postmortem production. N-butanol and n-propanol were detected in heart blood but not in vitreous or urine. Gabapentin was detected in heart blood at 1986 ng/mL and in urine at 102,094 ng/mL. Cyclobenzaprine was detected in heart blood. Norcyclobenzaprine was detected in heart blood at 3 ng/dL and in urine at 17 ng/mL. Acetaminophen was detected in urine but not in heart blood. No other tested-for substances were detected.
The FAA considers gabapentin and cyclobenzaprine as "do not issue/do not fly" and "do not fly" medications, respectively. Caffeine was presumptively positive.