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ERA15CA127

2015-02-01 · Carthage, New York, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N20059 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CESSNA 208), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The non-helicopter-rated pilot's improper decision to operate the helicopter at low-level and his inability to adequately see the horizon over snow and ice, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

Factual narrative

The non helicopter-rated pilot reported that while performing a bank, at low level, above a frozen river, he lost sight of the horizon and the helicopter impacted the frozen river. The helicopter came to rest on its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor, tailboom, and cockpit structure. The non helicopter-rated pilot further reported to a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration and Sheriff's Deputies that the helicopter was functioning "normally" at the time of impact and that "somehow I must have lost sight of the horizon in all the snow and ice." No preimpact malfunctions or abnormalities were noted with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The non-helicopter-rated pilot reported that while performing a bank, at low level, above a frozen river, he lost sight of the horizon and the helicopter impacted the frozen river. The helicopter came to rest on its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor, tailboom, and cockpit structure. The non-helicopter-rated pilot further reported to a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration and Sheriff's Deputies that the helicopter was functioning "normally" at the time of impact and that "somehow I must have lost sight of the horizon in all the snow and ice." No preimpact malfunctions or abnormalities were noted with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Whiteout-Contributed to outcome
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Snowy/icy-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_ERA15CA127.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (controlled flight into terrain). All research papers