Robinson R22 Beta accident near Hebbronville, TX
On October 23, 2019, a Robinson R22 Beta (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Hebbronville, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 23, 2019
- Place
- Hebbronville, TX
- Aircraft
- Robinson R22 Beta · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 27.372°N, 98.633°W
- NTSB ID
- 20191023X23030
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 23, 2019, about 0846 central daylight time, two Robinson R22 helicopters, N7189D and N74512, were involved in an accident near Hebbronville, Texas. N7189D was destroyed and the pilot and passenger onboard were fatally injured. N74512 was substantially damaged; the pilot was not injured, and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The helicopters were operated as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 work use flights. The purpose of the flights was to identify and net deer. N7189D was operating as the “spotter” helicopter and was tasked with locating deer to capture and communicating the location to the gunner helicopter (N74512), which then captured the deer using a net gun. After performing netting operations, the pilot of the gunner helicopter left the area to reload their net supply before returning to the operating area, where the pilot of the spotter helicopter had observed a doe. The gunner pilot flew to the area near the spotter helicopter and communicated via radio that he had the doe in sight. The gunner pilot estimated that he was about 100 ft above ground level (agl) about 100 ft behind the spotter helicopter, which was about 50 ft agl and about 100 ft behind the spotter helicopter. The gunner helicopter turned right and descended toward the doe while the spotter helicopter turned left and announced over the radio that he had spotted another deer. Shortly after, the gunner pilot felt an impact and brought his helicopter to a hover. He then saw the spotter helicopter descend and impact terrain. The gun operator onboard the gunn
Probable cause
The failure of the spotter helicopter pilot to maintain clearance from the gunner helicopter while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident were the effects from the pilot’s use of impairing drugs.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
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- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
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Browse: Texas · 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.
