We are shocked but not surprised to hear of yet another deadly Robinson R-44 crash, N144KW, this time just off the North Coast of Kauai on July 11, 2024. Our hearts go out to the families of the two passengers and pilot who were on the sight-seeing flight operated by Ali’I Kauai Tours and Charters. While it is too early to identify what caused the accident, the continuous problems with keeping R-44 rotor blades from striking the helicopter itself while in flight cannot be ruled out.
According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data, the helicopter was cruising at about 3500 feet over the Na Pali Kona Forest Reserve and a series of mountains. At about 1252:47, The helicopter was observed descending from that altitude towards 2000 feet. The last four ADS-B hits showed a groundspeed of about 90 knots, a course heading of 360°, and an increasing average rate, which reached -762 at the last return. Further tracking is unavailable, but local hikers reported seeing the helicopter crash into the water just offshore. As of publication, the Coast Guard continues searching for the crash site.
We just reported on the deadly R-44 Crash near Bluestem, Washington, that occurred on June 19, 2024. There, the NTSB preliminary report stated that the tail rotor assembly and about 2 feet of the tail cone had separated from the R-44 II, approximately 740 feet above the ground. This wreckage signature is consistent with a long-running problem with the R-44 in which its rotor blades strike the helicopter while in flight, usually with catastrophic consequences. A similar accident in which the R-44 main rotor blades struck the tail boom in flight, causing it to separate, resulting in an uncontrolled descent and crash that killed two persons on March 25, 2022, in Texas.
From 2006 to 2016, the R-44 led all major helicopter models with the highest fatal accident rate, which was 1.61 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours. The second most dangerous helicopter was at 1.09 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours. The extensive history of problems with both the R-22 and R-44 helicopters have prompted the FAA to issue and amend special federal aviation regulations (SFARs) related to special training and experience requirements specifically for these helicopters.
For example, the special regulation requires low G dual flight instruction training. However, the FAA recently sought to remove that requirement after it became concerned that low G maneuvers, including in training, could cause the main rotor to strike the helicopter, which can have catastrophic consequences. The FAA had previously issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD 95-11-10) prohibiting intentionally induced low G flight in R-44 helicopters and required the installation of placards in the helicopter identifying the prohibition against low G cyclic pushover maneuvers.
Robinson has recently installed cockpit video/audio records as standard equipment on new R44 Helicopters. It remains to be seen if the recent Kauai R-44 accident helicopter had this data-recording equipment on board. Recovering the helicopter wreckage will be critical to determining what caused the accident. ALG attorneys will continue to monitor developments in the accident as they continue to track and investigate the rise of R-44 fatal accidents.
ALG attorneys have handled numerous Robinson Helicopter accidents, including a multi-death R-44 accident in which the trial court ruled that the helicopter was defective as a matter of law because it allowed its tail rotor to come into contact with the tail boom, slicing the tail boom off, which caused the accident, in violation of a federal regulation.
ALG attorney Robert Hedrick is licensed to practice law in Hawaii, and has handled numerous helicopter accidents in Hawaii. He and his ALG team currently represent surviving family members of the February 22, 2022 Sikorsky helicopter accident that occurred at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the West Coast of Kauai, which killed 4 persons. That case is currently pending in Hawaii Federal Court in Honolulu.
Recent Comments