Robinson Helicopter R44 accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, November 22, 2022

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The purpose of the flight was to provide video training for a local staff meteorologist over a simulated news scene. About 5 minutes into the flight, the pilot began a series of left, 360° orbits over an interstate highway. During the third orbit, helicopter control was lost and the helicopter entered a steep descent until it impacted a grassy area adjacent to the highway. The pilot made a radio call before impact stating that they were “going down.” The helicopter impacted a grassy area adjacent to an interstate highway. There was no postaccident fire. An examination of the helicopter’s flight controls after the accident revealed the forward left control rod end that should have been connected to the stationary swashplate on the main rotor was disconnected and the connecting hardware was missing. A metallurgical examination of the remaining components suggested that the connecting hardware, including a threaded bolt, nut, palnut, two washers, and two hat-shaped spacers were loose and backed out during the flight. It is unlikely that the hardware was secure before the flight and may have been loose for multiple flights before the accident. Additional examination of the remaining hardware revealed that one of the two spacers was installed backwards, most likely during the field overhaul of the helicopter about three years before the accident. The subject hardware was required to be inspected for security by the pilot during each preflight inspection and by maintenance personnel at each 100-hour/annual inspection. The pilot tested positive for quinine and the pain reliever tramadol and was under a physician’s care for arthritis and polyarthralgia that was unreported to the Federal Aviation Administration. However, based on the mechanical issues and the actions of the pilot immediately before the accident, performance impairments were not an issue. Thus, it is unlikely that the effects from the pilot’s use of quinine and tramadol were factors in this accident.

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.

Other NTSB records under N7094J the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time