Robinson R44 accident near Barnesville, Georgia, June 27, 2004
On June 27, 2004 at about 9:30 am local time, a Robinson R44 (helicopter), registered N441MG, was destroyed in an accident near Barnesville, Georgia. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The certified flight instructor's in-flight decision to continue VFR flight into IMC, which resulted in spatial disorientation, and the subsequent in a loss of control. A factor was fog.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 27, 2004 · about 9:30 am local time
- Place
- Barnesville, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R44 · all R44s on the register
- Registration
- N441MG · registry record · serial 0915
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the mechanic of MG Aviation the purpose of the cross-country flight was to take the private pilot's wife to visit her grandmother in a hospital in Florida. The private pilot called his flight instructor to assist him on the cross-country flight. The mechanic stated that the flight instructor came to his residence to pick up his flight bag at 0200 shortly after returning from a concert. The mechanic asked if he needed any assistance in preparing for the flight to Florida, and the flight instructor replied that the private pilot prepared everything for the cross-country flight. That was the last conversation the mechanic had with the flight instructor. According to a witness a helicopter was heard flying over the residential area, and shortly afterward an explosion was heard. Witnesses searched the area, and a helicopter was located in the back of a residential home engulfed in flames. . Examination of the wreckage site revealed the helicopter rested approximately 25 yards behind a residential home. The wreckage path was approximately 35 feet in length on a northerly heading at the base of a tree. The tail boom section was broken, and buckled. The main rotor blades were buckled and separated from the main rotor mass. The tail rotor shaft was separated from the tail boom and lodge in a tree. The tail rotor gearbox was separated and the tail rotor blades were broken. First responders to the accident site reported dense fog conditions at the accident site. There was no record of the pilot receiving a weather briefing before the departure or while en route.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 294 hours in all
- Last flight review: February 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 118 hours in all; 56 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 945 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2004; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming 0-540-F1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: GSP Greer SC at 7:00 am
- Destination: AAF Apalachicola FL
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 220° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; a few clouds at 400 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 9:25 am from ATL, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.