37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1257360 |
Time | |
Date | 201504 |
Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | EMT.Airport |
State Reference | CA |
Environment | |
Flight Conditions | VMC |
Light | Night |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | Robinson R22 |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
Flight Phase | Takeoff |
Flight Plan | None |
Person 1 | |
Function | Pilot Flying |
Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Rotorcraft |
Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 47 Flight Crew Total 220 Flight Crew Type 152 |
Events | |
Anomaly | Conflict NMAC Inflight Event / Encounter Object |
Miss Distance | Horizontal 30 Vertical 0 |
Narrative:
On the return leg of a cross country helicopter flight; I made the decision to land briefly for a touch and go at el monte airport. Coming from the east; I made a left base arrival to runway 19. Winds were from the southwest; visibility was over 10 SM; the sky was clear below 12;000 AGL; and VMC prevailed. I started my takeoff roll down runway 19; intending to make a right crosswind departure northwest bound. I turned right crosswind over the last 1/4 of the runway at approximately 125 feet AGL. 1 or 2 seconds after I made that right turn; approximately 100-300 feet north west of runway 19; I saw a bright blue flashing object descend rapidly from above my aircraft at my 1:00 position; to below my aircraft at my 5:00 position. The object; which appeared to be circular in shape; was about 30 feet away from my aircraft during its rapid descent. Evasive action was taken in the form of a rapid steep left bank to clear my rotor blades from the uav. As soon as it was clear from my vision I made a steep right turn to attempt to see where the object was descending to; but I lost sight of it and could not locate it again. The flying object; although I could not see it very clearly because of darkness; appeared to have the shape of a quad copter; or multi rotor 'drone'. I would estimate its weight less than 40 pounds; and a diameter of 3-5 feet. I believe the incident took place directly over airport property; which greatly concerns me. The operator probably didn't know there was an airport there; or at least I hope so. I cannot conclude if the objects rapid descent was intentional on the part of the operator; or if it was a result of the downward flow of my rotor wash.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Helicopter pilot experiences an NMAC with a UAV during a night departure from EMT; about 200 feet AGL. Evasive action is taken.
Narrative: On the return leg of a cross country helicopter flight; I made the decision to land briefly for a touch and go at El Monte Airport. Coming from the east; I made a left base arrival to runway 19. Winds were from the southwest; visibility was over 10 SM; the sky was clear below 12;000 AGL; and VMC prevailed. I started my takeoff roll down runway 19; intending to make a right crosswind departure northwest bound. I turned right crosswind over the last 1/4 of the runway at approximately 125 feet AGL. 1 or 2 seconds after I made that right turn; approximately 100-300 feet north west of runway 19; I saw a bright blue flashing object descend rapidly from above my aircraft at my 1:00 position; to below my aircraft at my 5:00 position. The object; which appeared to be circular in shape; was about 30 feet away from my aircraft during its rapid descent. Evasive action was taken in the form of a rapid steep left bank to clear my rotor blades from the UAV. As soon as it was clear from my vision I made a steep right turn to attempt to see where the object was descending to; but I lost sight of it and could not locate it again. The flying object; although I could not see it very clearly because of darkness; appeared to have the shape of a quad copter; or multi rotor 'drone'. I would estimate its weight less than 40 pounds; and a diameter of 3-5 feet. I believe the incident took place directly over airport property; which greatly concerns me. The operator probably didn't know there was an airport there; or at least I hope so. I cannot conclude if the objects rapid descent was intentional on the part of the operator; or if it was a result of the downward flow of my rotor wash.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.