Accident Overview
On March 23, 2026, about 1221 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44 Raven I helicopter (registration N478AT) was destroyed when it impacted a vacant warehouse near Boynton Beach, Florida. The two occupants, a flight instructor and a pilot receiving instruction, sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight by Palm Beach Helicopters.
Flight History
The helicopter departed Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) in Lantana, Florida, at 1124. The purpose of the flight was to provide a basic visual flight rules (VFR) orientation flight, including a stop at the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Heliport (DT1) and a return to LNA. Fuel records indicate 23 gallons were added before departure, bringing the total to 46.5 gallons.
The helicopter was equipped with ADS-B and SPOT Trace tracking. Data show the flight departed LNA, flew south along the coast, and landed at DT1. After departure from DT1, the helicopter flew northwest and then turned east.
Communications and Witness Reports
Archived voice communications from the LNA common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) revealed that the flight instructor first reported being "7 miles to the south, straight in for runway 34." About 27 seconds later, he informed a company helicopter that "we're going to be landing out here in one of these fields, we've got something going on with the helicopter." The company helicopter attempted to contact N478AT but received no response.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying low before it entered a steep right turn with a nose-low attitude. The helicopter then impacted the roof of a vacant warehouse approximately 6 miles south of LNA, coming to rest inverted inside the building. The impact severed a water line for the building's sprinkler system, dispersing water on the wreckage. No postaccident fire occurred.
Wreckage Examination
The main rotor and main rotor gear box were found suspended within the warehouse roof structure, with the main wreckage inverted below. The engine core remained behind the cockpit, with the forward mounts separated and the aft mount secured. The tailboom was attached, while the tail rotor and empennage were impact-separated and within the main wreckage.
Examination of the main rotor flight controls revealed that the upper right push-pull tube was separated from the lower rod end (part number D173-2), which remained attached to the upper hydraulic servo piston shaft clevis (D200-1). The palnut and jam nut securing the tube to the rod end could not be rotated by hand, and the tube end was elongated. Remnants of torque stripe paint were present.
The palnuts and jam nuts on the left and aft lower rod ends (D173-2) and below the hydraulic servo clevis were found to be finger tight, with varying degrees of corrosion.
Engine and Maintenance
Examination of the engine revealed no mechanical anomaly or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
Maintenance records showed that the most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on March 23, 2026, at an airframe total time of 7,486.6 hours and tach time 3,091.1 hours. The most recent annual inspection was completed on June 18, 2025, at 7,090 hours total time. At the accident, tach time was 3,092.08 hours, and engine time since overhaul was 894 hours.
Pilot Information
The flight instructor held commercial and flight instructor certificates for rotorcraft, a ground instructor certificate, and a remote pilot certificate. He had a first-class medical certificate issued April 2, 2025, without limitations. He had approximately 822 total civilian flight hours, with about 140 hours in the accident helicopter make and model.
The pilot receiving instruction held an airline transport pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land and a commercial pilot certificate for rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument-helicopter. He had a first-class medical certificate issued February 28, 2026, with the limitation requiring corrective lenses. He reported 5,725 total civilian flight hours, with 225 hours in the preceding 6 months.
Further Examination
The three hydraulic servos, push-pull tubes, and rod ends were transported to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for additional examination.