Robinson R44 accident near Canadensis, PA
On March 27, 2016, a Robinson R44 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Canadensis, PA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 27, 2016
- Place
- Canadensis, PA
- Aircraft
- Robinson R44 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.251°N, 75.219°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160328X03918
Official records · ERA16FA143
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 27, 2016, at 1147 eastern daylight time, a Robinson Helicopter R44, N776JM, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Canadensis, Pennsylvania. The private pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to Sea Air Inc. and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The flight departed Doylestown Airport (DYL), Doylestown, Pennsylvania, at 1109, destined for Mountain Bay Airpark (PA49), Greentown, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles to the north. About the time of the accident, a witness was outside his home about 1/2-mile northwest of the accident site when he heard an aircraft engine overhead. The witness looked upward toward the sound, but the aircraft was obscured by clouds. He estimated the cloud height to be about 200 ft above the trees in his yard. The witness then heard a loud "boom," similar to a car striking a tree, followed by another "boom" a few seconds later. The helicopter was equipped with an on-board GPS; review of the recorded data revealed that, over the last 10 minutes of flight, the helicopter's altitude gradually increased. The increase in altitude corresponded with rising terrain. As the helicopter approached the crest of a ridge, the GPS altitude increased sharply to about 2,200 ft mean sea level (msl), or about 200-300 ft above ground level (agl) in the area of the ridge. At the time, the reported cloud ceiling was also about 2,200 ft msl. The yellow arrows in Figur
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation, which occurred after ascending in order to clear rising terrain and inadvertently entering the clouds.
More accidents in PA
- Boeing B-737-300, Sep 8, 1994
- Boeing 757, Sep 11, 2001
- British Aerospace J-3101, May 21, 2000
- Bell UH-1N, May 29, 2008
- Beech A36, Jul 30, 1989
Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.
