N337VH

On June 5, 2000, at 1301 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, N337VH, owned and operated by Volar Helicopters, Inc., was substantially damaged during an attempted prison break when it collided with a tree during initial climb following takeoff from the Martin County Treatment Center in Indiantown, Florida. The student pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originally departed Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at 1130, with a planned destination of Pahokee, Florida.

According to Volar Helicopters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the student was currently receiving instruction from their flight school. On the day of the accident, he planned a cross-country flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Pahokee, Florida, then to Stuart, Florida, with a final destination of Ft. Lauderdale. Prior to departure, he received an endorsement from his flight instructor to perform the cross-country solo flight.

However, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Department, the pilot diverted to the detention center. While hovering over the facility's recreation yard, he picked up a passenger who was an inmate at the center. During initial climb following takeoff, the helicopter struck a tree. Following an uncontrolled descent, the helicopter collided with the ground in a citrus grove approximately 100 yards from the perimeter of the facility, then flipped over onto its right side.