NTSB ERA25LA240 — 2025-06-25 · Hawesville, Kentucky, United States

Current FAA registration · N144WK

Make / Model: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II
Year of manufacture: 2005 · 20 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING IO-540-AE1A5 (260 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20190427
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A0B38A

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N144WK ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 II Serious

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from power lines during low-level agricultural spray operations.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during an aerial application flight, he made multiple passes over the field, while avoiding power lines. On the accident pass, the helicopter struck one of the power lines suspended above the field with the center of the rotor mast. The helicopter subsequently impacted terrain. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor blades during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures 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.

— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA240.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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