Robinson R-44 accident near Indiantown, Florida, May 19, 2006
On May 19, 2006 at about 7:05 pm local time, a Robinson R-44 (helicopter), registered N14MY, was substantially damaged in an accident near Indiantown, Florida (Indiantown airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A hard landing and subsequent nose down when the helicopter pilot misjudged the landing flare during a touchdown autorotation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2006 · about 7:05 pm local time
- Place
- Indiantown, Florida · Indiantown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R-44 · all R-44s on the register
- Registration
- N14MY · registry record · serial 1149
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private certificated helicopter pilot reported to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he had practiced two or three autorotations at a grass/turf covered runway that terminated with a power recovery to a hover during a CFR Part 91 personal flight. He decided to perform a touch-down autorotation, and said that he pulled excessive collective pitch during the termination of the maneuver, and accelerated too much while leveling the helicopter at the conclusion of the deceleration flare. The helicopter touched down hard and tilted forward onto its nose, the forward portion of the right skid tube fractured, and the main rotor blades struck the ground and the tailboom.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,464 hours in all; 327 in this make and model; 74 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-F1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SUA Stuart FL
- Destination: X58 Indiantown FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.