Robinson R66 accident near Pikeville, NC
On June 18, 2020, a Robinson R66 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Pikeville, NC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 18, 2020
- Place
- Pikeville, NC
- Aircraft
- Robinson R66 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.445°N, 77.925°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200618X83813
Official records · ERA20LA220
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On June 18, 2020, at 1700 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R66 helicopter, N4QW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Pikeville, North Carolina. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. According to company personnel familiar with the operation, this was the first time the pilot had sprayed the farm field, and the pilot had not received any information about hazards in the area to be sprayed. The pilot arrived at the field about 3 hours later than planned. Prior to the application of the insecticide, the pilot performed two circular passes over the field to look for any hazards or obstructions; he then landed, and the ground crew loaded the insecticide into the hopper. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot began spraying operations. The helicopter was flying over the field during the spraying operation when an eyewitness heard a "popping" sound and saw the helicopter’s sudden descent and impact with the terrain. The helicopter impacted a non-energized wire, also known as a "dove wire" that was used for hunting. The wire was mounted about 30 feet up a 40 ft pole that also contained a hunting stand and was stretched across the width of the corn field (250 ft) from west to east (See figure 1). The wire was connected to a tree on the east side of field, perpendicular to the helicopter’s flightpath. The wire had no markings and was 5/16 inch thick. According to the farmer, the wire was installed at least 20 years earlier and was installed high enough fo
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to see and avoid a small diameter wire during low altitude agricultural spraying operations. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s insufficient property survey.
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Browse: North Carolina · 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.
