Robinson Helicopter R44 N4055N accident near Forkston, Pennsylvania

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate preflight weather planning, which resulted in an inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions at night, spatial disorientation, and collision with terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot departed from his home airport about 13 minutes after sunset under visual flight rules and in visual meteorological conditions. He was not instrument-rated in helicopters, and the helicopter he owned was not approved for flight in instrument conditions. About 1 hour into the flight, the pilot likely encountered snow showers and instrument meteorological conditions that were forecast and moving through the area. Radar data showed that, after entering the area of weather, the pilot began a right, descending turn and the helicopter crashed in a rural, wooded area. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. There was no evidence that the pilot obtained a weather briefing or reviewed the weather prior to or during the flight.

The dark night conditions under the likely overcast skies, the obscuration of the snow showers, and the lack of terrestrial illumination due to being over a remote and wooded area were all conducive to the formation of spatial disorientation. The pilot’s lack of an instrument rating in helicopters, and the helicopter’s lack of equipage for flight instrument meteorological conditions, would also have increased the likelihood of the pilot becoming spatially disoriented. The descending right turn exhibited by the helicopter in the final moments of the flight were consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of control.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA191 for the full record.