NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN25LA326
Registry · N24DF
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II
TCDS
H11NM · ROBINSON HELICOPTER CO
Engine
LYCOMING IO-540-AE1A5 (260 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20180821
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A22DF7
Registrant of record
CAPE COPTERS LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
On August 16, 2025, at 1150 central daylight time, a Robinson R44 II helicopter, N24DF was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 air tour flight. The pilot reported that during an enroute descent towards his destination airport, he felt and heard a loud vibration and immediately started to lose tail rotor authority. During the vibration, he observed the alternator warning annunciator light illuminate but did not observe any reduction of rotor or engine RPM. The pilot decided to perform an autorotation to a nearby field. During the autorotation, the helicopter landed hard which resulted in the main rotor contacting the tail boom. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor, tail boom, tail rotor drive system, and tail rotor. The helicopter was retained for further examination. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2025_CEN25LA326.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.