Robinson R44 II accident near Cheyenne, WY
On August 28, 2015, a Robinson R44 II (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Cheyenne, WY. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 28, 2015
- Place
- Cheyenne, WY
- Aircraft
- Robinson R44 II · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.097°N, 104.827°W
- NTSB ID
- 20150828X82523
Official records · CEN15LA387
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
***This report was modified on November 14, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report. *** On August 28, 2015, about 1100 mountain daylight time, a Robinson R44 II, N440SA, was substantially damaged during a hard landing near Cheyenne Regional Airport (CYS), Cheyenne, Wyoming. The pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The helicopter was registered to Submissive Air, Inc., dba Eagle Sky Patrol, Deadwood, South Dakota, and was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The purpose of the flight was to conduct pipeline patrol near the Colorado/Wyoming border. After picking up two passengers, the flight proceeded to CYS to obtain fuel. The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that he added about 25 gallons of fuel to the helicopter, for a total of about 36 gallons on board. During takeoff, he received a low rotor rpm warning, but was able to "reposition" the helicopter and "make a normal takeoff." During the patrol flight, one of the passengers needed to replace his laptop computer power supply, and the flight returned to CYS. The pilot stated that during approach for landing, the rotor rpm began to decay about 40 ft above the ground, and he lowered the collective and tried to fly "into clean air." The helicopter was too low, however; and continued to descend to ground contact. Both the front and rear seat passengers stated that they heard the l
Probable cause
The pilot's improper preflight performance planning, which resulted in a hard landing due to low rotor rpm while operating near maximum gross weight in high density altitude conditions.
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Browse: Wyoming · Robinson aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
