ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 245526
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| Date: | Thursday 10 December 2020 |
| Time: | 10:30 LT |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Astro |
| Owner/operator: | Buford Copter Company LLC |
| Registration: | N7085Z |
| MSN: | 0217 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1995 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Colorado City, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Colorado City, TX |
| Colorado City, TX | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot and passenger departed on a flight to herd cattle via helicopter. There were no witnesses to the accident. Examination of the wreckage and debris pattern was consistent with an inflight break-up at low altitude. Main rotor blade contact marks were found on the cabin section of the fuselage and likely occurred before ground impact. No preimpact anomalies were found with helicopter or engine.
Toxicology of the pilot identified high levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active compound in cannabis), as well as its active and inactive metabolites. Even accounting for postmortem redistribution, the levels of THC detected indicated recent use of cannabis and a very high likelihood of impairment. Given that gastric and liver levels were very high while lung levels were much lower, it is likely that the pilot used an edible form of the drug.
Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot lost control and exceeded the performance and/or structural limitations of the helicopter while flying at low-level, resulting in an inflight breakup. It is likely that the pilot's impairment from his recent use of cannabis contributed to the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot's loss of control and exceedance of performance and/or structural limitations during low-altitude operations, which resulted in an inflight breakup.. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment from the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN21LA084
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N7085Z
Location
Media:
The NTSB is investigating the crash Thursday, 12-10-20, of a Robinson R-44 helicopter in Colorado City, Texas.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) December 10, 2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Dec-2020 00:09 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 11-Dec-2020 13:54 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Damage] |
| 11-Dec-2020 20:08 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 12-Dec-2020 06:42 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 12-Dec-2020 09:41 | A.J.Scholten | Updated [Source] |
| 12-Dec-2020 10:01 | Notarhelicopters | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Dec-2020 17:06 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Dec-2020 01:10 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 19-Jun-2021 08:23 | rvagast17 | Updated [Time, Source] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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