N44NV – Robinson R44 II – 2008-02-03 NTSB Accident Report

On February 03, 2008, a Robinson R44 II (N44NV) was involved in an incident near Bullhead City, AZ. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's misjudged landing flare, inadequate bounced landing recovery, and failure to maintain directional control during a bounced landing that resulted in the tail rotor blades colliding with a hangar. Contributing to the accident was the burned out landing lights.

The pilot reported that during the night flight, and prior to landing, he discovered that both landing lights were burned out. During the landing, the nose of the right skid contacted the ground and the helicopter bounced back into the air and rotated to the right resulting in the tail rotor striking a hangar. The helicopter rotated about 360 degrees before impacting the ground. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor gearbox attachment point. The pilot reported no other abnormalities with the helicopter prior to the accident.

This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX08CA057. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N44NV.