Event GAA17CA070

2016-11-12 Stone Lake, Wisconsin, United States Minor 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N744JS

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 525B

Year of manufacture

2009 · 7 years old at event

Engine

WILLIAMS FJ44-3A

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

20090305

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AA023F

Registrant of record

HUFF AIR LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N744JS ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY R44 Minor

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral control while in a hover and the helicopter’s subsequent impact with a tree.

Factual narrative

The helicopter pilot reported that during a hover taxi for takeoff, about three ft above the ground, he thought that he saw a person at the corner of his drive way. He added that he stopped and the helicopter drifted to the left. Subsequently the main rotor blade impacted a tree, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The helicopter pilot reported that, during a hover taxi for takeoff, about 3 ft above the ground, he thought that he saw a person at the corner of his driveway. He added that he stopped and that the helicopter drifted to the left. Subsequently, the main rotor blade impacted a tree, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA17CA070.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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