City of Little Rock Police Department 7on et Mina MEMORANDUM oe ee oo 324 SUBJECT, 1 Recommendation of Aircraft Accident 201 At approximately 1000 hours on Thursday, August 16, 2018, Pilot Bill Denio was performing a ground run in aircraft NS4331_after some minor maintenance. There wes no intention of flight and the aireaft was to remain at idle during the ground run. Historie weather data shows that atmospheric conditions atthe time consisted of a temperature of 82 degrees, ‘humidity of $2% and a 9 mpla wind tothe NE. There were seatered clouels with a visibility of 10 niles. By watching video evidence, et approximetcly 1020 hours, I observed a wind that came from a North to South direction through the trees on the north fence line, At this time, you can observe the til of the aircraft sway slighty. Moments later, a stronger wind coming from the same direction strikes the aircraft causing a larger impact on the helicopter. The nose of the aireraft then appears to lurch off of the trailer dolly sending the dolly over its chocks. At this point, it appears that Pilot Denio makes numerous efforts to stabilize the aircraft in the air, but ‘with no success. During one of these attempts, the rear point of the pilot side skid catches ‘underneath the trailer dolly and rotates the aircraft counter clockwise causing a main rotor strike and ultimately sending the airraft into a collision with te parking lot surface. Pilot Deno incurred broken ribs, a separated sternum and a brain bleed from the incident. Due tothe head injury, Pilot Denio has not been able to recall the accident or what led up to the accident. An alcohol/drug test could not be administered due to his serious medical condition and the fact that he was administered medications for stabilization and pain upon artiving at the hospital, 1 46 years of aviation experience, Pilot Denio has not incurred an incident such as tis. He is known to be a very cautious and experienced pilot who follows regulations and protocol to the letter. Due to my lack of knowledge in the area of aircraft crash reconstruction, I am unable to produce a detailed breakdown of the incident such as the NTSB would deliver, but based on ‘witness accounts, conversations with federal aviation officals and the video evidence, I eannot point to any clear evidence that indicates the crash isa result of pilot error. 1 recommend that Pilot William James Denio be cleared in the crash of Helicopter NS4331.Little Rock Police Department Special Trafic Accident Reduction Team Investigative Report ‘TABLE OF CONTENTS 2018-103203, INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARY DENIO PILOT'S LICENSE DENIO MEDICAL CERTIFICATE DENIO FLIGHT REVIEW DENIO PILOT EXPERIENCE FORM SAFETY NATIONAL PILOT APPLICATION [NS4331 FAA REGISTRATION [NS4331 FAA REGISTRATION APPLICATION LRPD INCIDENT REPORT ACCIDENT SCENE DIAGRAM DIAGRAM PLOT POINTS WITNESS STATEMENT ~ NICHOLAS FRANKE WITNESS STATEMENT - MATTHEW SMITH NICHOLAS CUSIMANO EMAIL LRPD DISCIPLINARY EVALUATION MATTHEW SMITH PERONAL PROPERTY RECORDS, CRIME SCENE SEARCH UNIT PAPERS CRIME SCENE SEARCH UNIT PHOTOS 1a ras 4 15 1617 18.19 Ft} a 22.33 M 38 36.43 4454 36.65 66.68 on 209Little Rock Police Department Special Traffic Accident Reduction Team Investigative Report Helicopter Accident 11400 Ironton Cutoff Road 2018-103203 08/16/2018 1020 Hours