NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA15CA364
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, and his subsequent failure to attain adequate altitude during takeoff, which resulted in a collision with a wire fence.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the helicopter was taking off from a field at farm, and attempted to clear a driveway, when the left skid toe caught on the top of a wire fence. The pilot applied aft cyclic in an attempt to climb; however, the helicopter rolled to the left and impacted the ground. The main rotor, tail rotor, and airframe sustained substantial damage. Subsequent examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions which would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported about 3,900 hours of total flight experience in rotorcraft, which included 160 hours in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. He further reported that the accident could have been prevented had he conducted a walk around of the takeoff area to better evaluate prospective hazards. The helicopter pilot was departing from a field at a family farm and attempted to clear an adjacent driveway when the left skid toe caught on the top of a wire fence. The pilot applied aft cyclic in an attempt to climb; however, the helicopter rolled to the left and impacted the ground. The main rotor, tail rotor, and airframe sustained substantial damage. Subsequent examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions which would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported about 3,900 hours of total flight experience in rotorcraft, which included 160 hours in the same make and model as the accident helicopter. He further reported that the accident could have been prevented had he conducted a walk around of the takeoff area to better evaluate prospective hazards. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-(general)-Pilot - C
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Fence/fence post-Not specified
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_ERA15CA364.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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