2013 Robinson R44 Raven II accident at Landshut-Ellermühle

Overview and Investigation Status On 8 December 2013, a Robinson Helicopter Company R44 Raven II helicopter was involved in an accident at Verkehrslandeplatz Landshut-Ellermühle (EDML). The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) closed the investigation summarily under § 18 FlUUG, presenting only the facts. The aircraft was heavily damaged, with no injuries to persons and no third-party damage. ## Flight and Accident Sequence The pilot intended to fly from Landshut-Ellermühle to Sonderlandeplatz Mühldorf am Inn (EDMY). The helicopter was positioned on the taxiway in front of hangars four and five, nose into the wind. During takeoff into hover at approximately 14:15 local time, the pilot reported that the aircraft began to rotate sharply counterclockwise around the vertical axis at a height of 10–40 cm. The pilot attempted to land immediately, but the helicopter continued to rotate on the ground and rolled over to the right. The pilot exited the heavily damaged aircraft without injury. The accident was reported to local police at 15:17, by which time the helicopter had already been recovered and placed in a hangar. ## Pilot and Aircraft Details The 73-year-old pilot held a Part-FCL German PPL(H) first issued on 25 November 2013, with an R44 type rating valid until 31 May 2014. He reported approximately 4,000 total flight hours, including about 2,000 in helicopters and 1,315 on the R44. The 2005-built R44 Raven II, serial number 10843, was a single-engine, four-seat helicopter powered by a Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 piston engine. It had a two-blade main rotor, skid landing gear, and a tail rotor. At the time of the accident, it had approximately 1,074 total operating hours. ## Meteorological and Site Conditions METAR data from Munich (EDDM), about 13 nautical miles away, at 14:20 showed visibility over 10 km, wind from 250° at 8 kt, scattered cloud at 4,600 ft, temperature 5°C, dew point 0°C, and QNH 1,017 hPa. The pilot reported local wind from 260° at 12 kt and described conditions as ideal. Runway 25 was in use. The accident site was on or north of the taxiway in front of hangars four and five. ## Damage and Findings The helicopter was found upright in a hangar when the BFU representative arrived. One main rotor blade was broken off near the rotor head, while the other had struck the tail boom. The rotor mast was bent left, control rods to the rotor head were broken, and the fuselage showed multiple dents and crushes on the roof, sides, and tail boom. The horizontal stabilizer was bent, and one tail rotor blade was damaged. Oil and fuel leaked from the aircraft. The right grip on the control stick was broken in the cockpit. No fire occurred. ## Additional Information The BFU noted that the helicopter rotated in the direction of main rotor rotation, which was unusual. The manufacturer reported two similar past incidents where no technical cause was found, and the likely explanation was inadvertent excessive left pedal input before takeoff. On 9 November 2012, witnesses at Eggenfelden (EDME) observed the same helicopter rotating multiple times on the ground in the direction of main rotor rotation before taking off normally. Skid scratch marks from that event were still visible on the apron in early 2014.