On July 19, 2021, Dare County Emergency Communications were notified that a Helicopter was overdue for landing. Two brothers departed Mecklenburg Brunswick Regional Airport in Virginia and planned to land at Dare County Regional Airport near Manteo North Carolina later that evening in a Robinson model R44. Unfortunately, the helicopter never arrived that day.
Later that day, air and surface assets were launched to search the Albemarle Sound where the aircraft was last observed. Debris from the helicopter was found later at the mouth of the Alligator River by the United States Coast Guard around 9:00 PM that night
Currently, investigators have not determined the cause of the crash. Although, Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation and Safety Board are reported to be investigating the crash. There are many causes of aviation incidents, such as pilot error, product failure, failure to warn pilots, improper maintenance guidelines, and faulty maintenance.
Unfortunately, aircraft crashes are too common in aviation. The victims of this crash were flying the Robinson R44, which has been the best-selling general aviation helicopter for more than twenty years. The R44 has a piston-driven Lycoming I0-540 engine, with over 6,000 aircraft of this model having been produced. Between 2006 and 2016 there were over 42 fatal crashes in the Robinson model R44.
If you or someone you know has suffered injuries or loss of a family member due to an aviation-related incident, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz, & Stogner by calling 713-396-3964 or toll-free at 1-800-594-4884.