NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR24LA092
Registry · N422DX
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 II
Year of manufacture
2009 · 14 years old at event
TCDS
H11NM · ROBINSON HELICOPTER CO
Engine
LYCOMING IO-540-AE1A5 (260 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20090513
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5036E
Registrant of record
MERTEN AVIATION SERVICES LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from power lines during an aerial application flight.
Factual narrative
The pilot was on an aerial application flight and was maneuvering the helicopter at a low altitude. During a decent to a field, the main rotor blade struck a powerline wire. The pilot felt an unusual vibration and performed a precautionary landing. A postflight examination revealed that a main rotor blade sustained substantial damage. No preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation were reported. 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).
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Effect on equipment
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_WPR24LA092.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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