Robinson R44 accident near Las Vegas, NV
On October 23, 2019, a Robinson R44 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, NV. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 23, 2019
- Place
- Las Vegas, NV
- Aircraft
- Robinson R44 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.147°N, 115.382°W
- NTSB ID
- 20191023X31824
Official records · WPR20FA013
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 23, 2019, at 1553 mountain standard time, a Robinson R44 II Raven, N225JM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline transport pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The pilot contacted the fixed based operator (FBO) that rented the helicopter in the early afternoon on the day of the accident and asked office personnel if the helicopter was available to rent later that afternoon. One of the schedulers responded that the helicopter was undergoing maintenance, and the pilot stated that he would stop by the office anyway to check if the maintenance was done and put money on his account. The pilot and passenger arrived about 10 minutes later. The pilot asked why the helicopter was in maintenance and the office personnel told him that an earlier flight was canceled because that pilot had found sediment in the fuel tanks. The accident pilot stated that he was happy to wait, and about 20 minutes later, the flight instructor who had canceled the earlier flight called, stating that the maintenance was done, and the helicopter was ready to fly. The pilot and passenger planned to take a 1-hour flight. (see figure 1.) Figure 1: Airport to Accident Site A witness, who was also a pilot, stated that while riding his motorcycle, he initially saw the helicopter in the upper right-corner of his vision at an estimated 100 to 200 feet above ground level (agl) in a nose-up attitude and in a very steep descent
Probable cause
An undetermined inflight event that resulted in the pilot performing an autorotation to uneven terrain for reasons that could not be determined due to the extent of impact damage.
More accidents in NV
- Cessna 425, Jan 12, 1992
- Cessna TU206G, Dec 7, 1986
- Beech A36TC, Dec 25, 2003
- Cessna T21OL, Mar 1, 1982
- Pilatus PC-12/45, Feb 25, 2023
Browse: Nevada · 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.
