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WPR22LA261

2022-07-18 · Escalante, Utah, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport N/A

Current FAA registration · N342WF

Make / Model
AEROSPATIALE SA342J
Year of manufacture
1977 · 45 years old at event
Engine
TURBOMECA ASTAZOU XIV H (592 hp)
Seats / Engines
5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20140609
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3C6B6

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to control the helicopter’s descent rate during landing, which resulted in collision with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, he was transporting supplies to a remote landing site and had made multiple approaches and landings. He stated that on the final approach, cloud cover had cleared and the helicopter “felt heavy.” About 25-30 ft above the ground the helicopter began to sink and he could not recover. The helicopter hit hard and tipped forward onto its nose during landing, substantially damaging the airframe and main rotors. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent rate-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR22LA261.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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