Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Tampa, Florida
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
https://registry.faa.gov/N689M
Location: Bradenton Beach, FL
Accident Number: ERA19TA153
Date & Time: 04/13/2019, 1220 EDT
Registration: N689M
Aircraft: Robinson R22
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Settling with power/vortex ring state
Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Instructional
On April 13, 2019, about 1220 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R22, N689M, was substantially damaged during impact with water while maneuvering near Bradenton Beach, Florida. The flight instructor and private pilot were not injured. The instructional flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Buchan Airport (X36), Englewood, Florida, about 1100. The flight was destined to Clearwater Airport (CLW), Clearwater, Florida.
The private pilot stated that he was receiving instruction to prepare for a commercial pilot practical examination. As part of the lesson, the private pilot was flying about 100 ft above the water while the flight instructor took pictures of boats. The private pilot then executed a 180°-turn to obtain a better angle for a photograph. Immediately after the turn, the helicopter lost power and or lift and the pilot assumed "I got into settling with power, because the wind might have shifted." The private pilot tried to level the helicopter before impact with the water, but there was not enough time. The helicopter came to rest inverted in the water and both pilots egressed.
The flight instructor stated that the pilot made a turn into a downwind, which put the helicopter in a tailwind. The pilot then pulled back into 0 airspeed and as a result the helicopter settled into its own downwash. The accident happened so quickly that the flight instructor had no time to take the controls and correct. He added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter.
Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the main rotor, fuselage and tailboom.
The recorded wind at an airport located about 8 miles southeast of the accident site, at 1253, was from 190° at 15 knots.
Flight Instructor Information
Certificate: Flight Instructor; Commercial
Age: 42, Male
Airplane Rating(s): None
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): Helicopter
Restraint Used: 3-point
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): Helicopter
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 2 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 04/10/1977
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 02/18/2018
Flight Time: 1476 hours (Total, all aircraft), 1414 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 160 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 70 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 6 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)
Pilot Information
Certificate: Private
Age: 48, Male
Airplane Rating(s): None
Seat Occupied: Right
Other Aircraft Rating(s): Helicopter
Restraint Used: 3-point
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 2 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 04/02/2019
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 02/18/2018
Flight Time: 354 hours (Total, all aircraft), 999999 hours (Total, this make and model), 242 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 41 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 30 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 3 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Robinson
Registration: N689M
Model/Series: R22 UNDESIGNATED
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Year of Manufacture: 1979
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 689M
Landing Gear Type: Float;
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 03/16/2019, 100 Hour
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 1370 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 7084 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Lycoming
ELT: Not installed
Engine Model/Series: O-320
Registered Owner: Boatphoto Helicopter Llc
Rated Power: 160
Operator: Boatphoto Helicopter Llc
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: SRQ, 28 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 8 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1253 EDT
Direction from Accident Site: 115°
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Visibility: 10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 4400 ft agl
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 15 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: None / None
Wind Direction: 190°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: N/A / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 29.98 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 29°C / 21°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Englewood, FL (X36)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Clearwater, FL (CLW)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1100 EDT
Type of Airspace:
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 None
Latitude, Longitude: 27.450556, -82.686111 (est)
Two men were rescued from the crash without injuries, according to Longboat Key Police Chief Peter Cumming. The circumstances that led to the crash are under investigation.
The Robinson R22 Mariner is owned and operated by Boatpix.com, a West Palm Beach aviation photography and training company.
James Rahming told SNN-TV that he and his co-pilot, identified by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office as Josef Bakker, made an emergency water landing after losing power. They landed the chopper upright, Rahming said, but the floats lashed to its landing skids proved insufficient to keep it afloat and it overturned into the water.
Rahming, of Cortez, has held a commercial pilot license for two years, according to FAA records.
A Boatpix.com representative confirmed that Rahming is an employee with the company, and that the helicopter was owned by Boatpix.com.
Helicopters operated by the company, many of them the same R22 model or slightly larger R44 model, have been involved in several accidents, including one last year in Panama City Beach.
On May 2, 2018, according to the Panama City News Herald, a Boatpix.com helicopter nosedived into the Gulf of Mexico after trying to make an emergency landing. No one was injured.
Other Boatpix.com crashes were reported in Oaks Island Pier in Brunswick County, North Carolina, in 2012 and over Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, in May 2008, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Saturday’s helicopter crash follows one on Anna Maria Island in early January that injured the pilot.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.heraldtribune.com
It happened around 12:30pm. Deputies say the pilot, 48-year-old Josef Bakker, who recently received his pilot license, was flying over the Intercoastal Waterway while his co-pilot, 41-year-old James Rahming, took photos of boats.
At some point, deputies say Bakker made a maneuver to change directions in the Robinson R22 helicopter but failed to realize he didn’t have enough altitude for the move. The helicopter hit the water nose first.
Bakker and Rahming were pulled from the water. Neither were injured.
The aircraft was towed to the Coquina Beach boat ramp, where it was eventually removed from the water.
Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.mysuncoast.com
James RahmingU.S. Coast Guard Station Cortez responded to the South Coquina boat ramp at 12:18 p.m. according to Officer of the Day Charles Richter.
Student pilot Joseph Bakker, of Englewood, and instructor James Rahming, of Tampa, were pulled from the water by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Richter said.
Rahming is with Helicopter Academy, also known as boatpix.com. The helicopter is reportedly a Robinson R22.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer Eric Hill said he saw the helicopter “trying to maneuver and make a counterclockwise turn and then I heard the pitch of the rotor blades change and it looks like it lost lift due to the way it was turning… that’s when people called that it crashed,” he said.
This is the second helicopter crash this year off Anna Maria Island.
A Robinson R44 crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about two miles off Anna Maria Island on Jan. 2, sending two men to the hospital. The helicopter was shooting video of a boat about 10-15 feet above the water a half-mile west of the Sandbar restaurant when the crash occurred.
https://www.amisun.com
This is the same Helicopter that buzzed me on the Intercoastal less than 15 feet above the water. Low flying directly over boats. I video taped it and forgot about it until seeing this news report. Filing complaint with FAA. They are a menace to boaters.
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