Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Robinson R44, N1241W: Accident occurred June 17, 2019 near Key West International Airport (KEYW), Monroe County, Florida


Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miami, Florida

Helicopter spun into water.


Pumpkin Eater LLC


Air Adventures Helicopters


https://registry.faa.gov/N1241W 


Date: 18-JUN-19
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N1241W
Aircraft Make: ROBINSON
Aircraft Model: R44
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: MINOR
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: SIGHT SEEING
Flight Phase: MANEUVERING (MNV)
Operation: 91
Aircraft Operator: AIR ADVENTURES
City: KEY WEST
State: FLORIDA








A helicopter pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in the ocean just off Key West on Monday night.


The hard water landing happened immediately after takeoff from the Key West International Airport, 3491 S. Roosevelt Blvd., according to Monroe County spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.

The pilot and two passengers were treated for minor injuries at Lower Keys Medical Center. No serious injuries were reported.

Air Adventures Helicopter Tours, which offers sightseeing tours — including trips at sunset — out of the Key West airport, spun out of control in the air at about 7:45 p.m. and landed in the shallow water near Smathers Beach, according to video posted on Facebook.

“We don’t know what caused it but the pilot did everything perfectly,” said Peter Closi, president of the helicopter tour company. ‘It really was the best-case scenario.”

Closi said the pilot reported feeling a vibration after takeoff and he turned the copter around to return to the airport and lost control “of what felt normal.”

The tail rotor remained in the water on Tuesday morning. In video and photos of the incident, the helicopter’s tail had clearly fallen off.

“The FAA didn’t want us to touch it,” Closi said.

The pilot deployed the emergency pop-up floats, which are hidden in the skids - the landing gear - and landed on the water. The floats prevent the helicopter from sinking.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

The landing happened about 30 yards off South Roosevelt Boulevard across the street from the airport.

Monroe County Fire Rescue was the first to respond to the landing and helped the three people out of the copter.

“There was no effect or delays to takeoff and landings at the airport related to the accident,” Livengood said.

Story and video ➤ https://www.miamiherald.com

KEY WEST (CBSMiami) — A small sightseeing helicopter carrying three people crashed into the water off Key West Monday night.

The chopper came down about 100 to 150 yards off South Roosevelt Boulevard near Key West International Airport around 8 p.m.

There were no life-threatening injuries reported.

The pilot suffered a small cut above this eye and was taken to the hospital and quickly released, and the choppers two passengers did not suffer any injuries, said Peter Closi, who owns the Key West-based Air Adventures, according to KeysNews.com.

The pilot deployed the helicopter’s emergency floats before impact, which minimized the force of the landing.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the investigating agency.

Key West Police, the FWC, Coast Guard, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Deputies from the airport, Key West Firefighters and Monroe County Airport Rescue Firefighters all responded.


Story and video ➤  https://miami.cbslocal.com

3 comments:

  1. Another Robinson ... No surprise here.

    Glad there were no serious injuries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am no pilot or air expert .. but these Robinson's sure seem to be on this site a whole bunch

    ReplyDelete
  3. Give that pilot a raise ! OTOH, the mechanic may need to be replaced...

    ReplyDelete