Monday, December 07, 2020

Robinson R44 Raven II, N371MP: Accident occurred December 05, 2020 in Marietta, Cass County, Texas

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Irving, Texas 
Location: Marietta, TX 
Accident Number: CEN21LA077
Date & Time: December 5, 2020, 13:30 Local 
Registration: N371MP
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY
R44 II Injuries: 5 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY
Registration: N371MP
Model/Series: R44 II II 
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built: No
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: 
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation: 
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
Temperature/Dew Point:
Lowest Cloud Condition: 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: 
Visibility:
Altimeter Setting: 
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: 
Destination:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 4 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 5 None 
Latitude, Longitude: 33.194025,-94.526083 (est)





MARIETTA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – At least three men were uninjured when the helicopter they were flying in clipped a powerline, damaging its main rotor and forcing a hard landing on Highway 77 about a mile east of Marietta, Texas.

When the Robinson R44 Raven II clipped the powerline, it went on to shave the top of the electrical pole across the street, which in turn caused power to go out in the area.

According to FlightAware live flight tracking, the helicopter left Texarkana at 10:16 Saturday morning and listed its destination as “near Atlanta Texas” on its flight plan. The flight plan, which ordinarily lists an arrival time, instead lists “result unknown.”

The men told Marietta resident Jeffrey Taylor who was at the scene within minutes that they flew over from Texarkana to attend Saturday church services at Marietta-New Hope, a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Marietta.

Taylor, who lives nearby, said as soon as the power went out, he decided to go to the laundromat to do his laundry and came onto the scene. He saw a group of people trying to move the aircraft off the highway, but said there were emergency vehicles or law enforcement at the scene.

When informed of the crash, KTAL called the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, who said they knew nothing about a helicopter crash, but Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative responded and told residents they hoped to restore power sometime Saturday afternoon.

A pickup truck with a trailer showed up later in the afternoon and loaded the helicopter to be taken to an undisclosed place for repairs.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, the helicopter was manufactured by the Robinson Helicopter Co. in 2019. Its registered owner is to a company called N371MP Inc. out of Middletown, Delaware.

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