ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 58602
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| Date: | Sunday 1 February 2009 |
| Time: | 12:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven II |
| Owner/operator: | Upper Limit Aviation |
| Registration: | N944U |
| MSN: | 10766 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2035 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bountiful, UT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Salt Lake City International Airport, UT (SLC/KSLC) |
| Morgan County Airport, UT (42U) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
While en route to her destination, the pilot elected to fly the helicopter up a canyon toward rising terrain. Soon after making a low pass over a ridge above 8,000 feet mean sea level, the pilot increased collective in order to climb over upcoming higher terrain. As the collective was increased, the rotor rpm started to drop. The pilot immediately increased throttle, reversed course to fly downhill, and lowered the collective. During the turn, the helicopter encountered a quartering tailwind and began to settle toward the snow-covered down-sloping terrain. Soon thereafter the helicopter contacted the terrain, bounced back into the air, and a main rotor blade severed the tail boom. The helicopter rotated 180 degrees, impacted the terrain, and rolled over. According to the pilot there was no evidence of an engine power loss or any anomaly with the flight control system.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper decision to fly at low altitude while maneuvering in mountainous terrain in a canyon and inadvertently exceeding the climb capability of the helicopter. Contributing to the accident were a high density altitude, mountainous terrain, and a tailwind encountered during the attempted course reversal.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
2. FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=944U
3. http://helihub.com/2009/02/01/1-feb-09-n944u-robinson-r44-ogden-us-utah/
4. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N944U.html
5. https://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=49790
6. https://uk.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N944U
7. https://planecrashmap.com/list/wy/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_County_Airport_(Utah)
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bountiful,_Utah
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 9 September 2005 | N944U | Upper Limit Aviation | 0 | Jackson, Wyoming | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Feb-2009 09:53 | harro | Updated |
| 16-Nov-2016 20:21 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 03-Dec-2017 13:35 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Nov-2018 01:23 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Nov-2018 01:28 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 25-Feb-2022 23:51 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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