Skip to content

ERA11CA194

2011-03-17 · Petersburg, West Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport W99

Current FAA registration · N555FP

Make / Model
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44
Year of manufacture
2001 · 10 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20010308
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A71289

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain control during the takeoff.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the helicopter stated that he was preparing to lift off into a hover position in order to depart the airport. As he raised the collective, the helicopter became light on the skids, and rolled to the right and then to the left. The main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and tail boom. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the helicopter. He further reported 315 hours of total flight experience, which included 51 hours in helicopters, all in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. The pilot of the helicopter stated that he was preparing to lift off into a hover and then depart from the airport. As he raised the collective, the helicopter became light on the skids, and rolled to the right and then to the left. The main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and tail boom. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the helicopter. He further reported 315 hours of total flight experience, which included 51 hours in helicopters, all in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA194.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.