ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 349529
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| Date: | Saturday 30 December 2023 |
| Time: | 14:04 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven I |
| Owner/operator: | Tunica Helicopters LLC dba Leading Edge Helicopters |
| Registration: | N828AK |
| MSN: | 1689 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB/KDAB), Daytona, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Daytona Beach International Airport, FL (DAB/KDAB) |
| Daytona Beach International Airport, FL (DAB/KDAB) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot of the helicopter reported that while flying at an indicated altitude around 200 to 300 ft, while on approach to land at an off-airport landing zone, he saw a black “drone” [unmanned aerial system (UAS)] in front of his windscreen. He attempted to avoid the UAS but was unable and the UAS impacted the main rotor resulting in substantial damage to a main rotor blade. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
The UAS operator reported that he was conducting operations over a construction site. The area was inside of the class C airspace of a nearby airport and the UAS operator was using a Federal Aviation Administration Certificate of wavier or authorization (COA) that had been previously obtained by the construction company who hired him. The UAS operator reported that he was flying at an altitude of 180 ft, and that before the flight he had not realized that this altitude was above the maximum altitude of 150 ft imposed by the COA. The COA also required the UAS operator to notify the air traffic control tower at the nearby airport at least 15 minutes prior to the proposed start time of any operations. The UAS operator stated, and a review by the of contact records by the air traffic control tower confirmed, that no call was received from the UAS operator notifying them of the operation.
Probable Cause: The UAS operator’s failure to operate within the limitations of the COA that he was using to operate inside class C airspace, which resulted in a collision between the UAS and the helicopter.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/drone-helicopter-collide-over-florida-030134683.html
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193587
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N828AK
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Jan-2024 18:38 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 09-Jan-2024 18:04 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Operator, Damage, Accident report] |
| 28-Jan-2024 19:26 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator, Phase, Source, Narrative, Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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