Robinson R-44 accident near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, October 19, 1999
On October 19, 1999 at about 9:05 pm local time, a Robinson R-44 (helicopter), registered N8364Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale Executive airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The PIC's improper use of cyclic control during landing which resulted in a main rotor strike of the terrain and the rotorcraft's tail boom.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 1999 · about 9:05 pm local time
- Place
- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida · Ft. Lauderdale Executive · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R-44 · all R-44s on the register
- Registration
- N8364Z · registry record · serial 426
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that as he transitioned from hover to landing during the sales demonstration flight, the helicopter bounced 1 to 2 inches after touchdown, and he mistakenly applied right cyclic. The main rotor struck the ground and severed the tail boom, yawing the rotorcraft 180 degrees and damaging the landing skids.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,978 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 850 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 391 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 22, 1999; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-F1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FXE Ft. Lauderdale FL at 8:05 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:12 pm from FXE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.