Commercial authorisation
FAA Part 135 current listing1 operator
This aircraft is currently listed by the FAA as authorised for Part 135 operation. This does not prove that it has flown charter services. View operator details.
N478AT
FAA · N-Number United StatesV Valid Registration On watch list Updated
- Mode-S hex
-
A5DEE4 - Serial
- 1006
- Type
- Rotorcraft
- Manufacturer
- ROBINSON HELICOPTER
- Model
- R44
- Year
- 2001
Overview
Aircraft
Make / model- Manufacturer
- ROBINSON HELICOPTER
- Model
- R44
- Type
- Rotorcraft
- Category
- Land
- Engines
- 1 × LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- Seats
- 4
- Year
- 2001
Registrant
MASTER
Corporation
AIRMEN TESTING AND TRAINING INC
REGISTRANT SINCE ·
Live tracking
Mode-S
Mode-S hex code (24-bit ICAO)
A5DEE4
This is the unique transponder address this airframe broadcasts. It does not change when the registration changes hands.
Key dates
Lifecycle2001
Manufactured
Airworthy
Cert issued
Last action
Expires
Recent changes
Members onlyChange history for this aircraft is available to signed-in members. See what's included.
Market intelligence
Members onlyMarket-intelligence filings (FAA registrations only) are available to signed-in members. See what's included.
Technical
Airframe
ACFTREF- Manufacturer
- ROBINSON HELICOPTER
- Model
- R44
- Type aircraft
- Rotorcraft
- Category
- Land
- Weight class
- Light
- Year mfr
- 2001
- Serial number
- 1006
Powerplant
ENGINE ref- Manufacturer
- LYCOMING
- Model
- 0-540 SERIES
- Type
- Reciprocating
- # of engines
- 1
- Horsepower
- 250 hp
Capacity & weight
Performance- Seats
- 4
- Weight class
- Light
FAA uses a weight category code rather than exact pounds. Weight classifications reflect the aircraft type certificate data.
FAA type certificate data sheet
DRS- TCDS number
- H11NM
- Certificate holder
- Robinson Helicopter Company
- Covered models
- R44 II | R44
- Product subtype
- Rotorcraft
- Status
- Current
- Revision
- 11
- Revision date
- 29 Jan 2024
- CFR part
- Part 27
Registration
Status
Current
V
Valid Registration
The certificate is valid through . Last action by FAA .
Part 135 operators
Current FAA operator-and-aircraft list1 current
- JJWA
- Aircoastal Helicopters, Inc. · 135
Currently listed by the FAA as authorised for Part 135 operation. Authorisation does not prove actual charter flights or ownership.
Certificate
Airworthiness- Type registrant
- Corporation
- Airworthiness
- 1N
- Airworthy since
- Cert issued
- Last FAA action
- Expires
- Fractional owner
- No
- FAA region
- Southern
Registrant
MASTER address
Active
- Owner name
- AIRMEN TESTING AND TRAINING INC
- Type
- Corporation
- Registrant since
- Street
- 2615 LANTANA RD STE A
- City
- LANTANA, FL 334622449
- County
- 099
- Country
- United States
Safety
Safety records
2 on file
2
NTSB records on file
23 Mar 2026
Most recent record
Fatal
Highest injury level
Destroyed
Worst aircraft damage
-
16:21 UTC ANC26FA021 NTSB Accident Location: Boynton Beach, FL, USA Injury: Fatal Damage: Destroyed
Record details
- Record match
- N-number and serial number match
- Aircraft
- ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44
- Occurrence
- Unknown Unknown or undetermined
- Operation
- Part 91 — General aviation
- Conditions
- VMC · Day · Visibility 10 sm
- Operator
- Palm Beach Helicopters
- Accident narrative
- On March 23, 2026, about 1221 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44 Raven I helicopter, N478AT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Boynton Beach, Florida. The flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
According to the flight school, Palm Beach Helicopters, the flight instructor, who was seated in the left seat, and the pilot receiving instruction, who was seated in the right seat, departed the Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA), Latana, Florida, at 1124. The purpose of the flight was to provide the pilot receiving instruction with a basic visual flight rules (VFR) orientation flight, which was to include going to the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Heliport (DT1) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and then returning to LNA. Records indicated that 23 gallons of fuel was added to the helicopter just before departure and that the total amount of fuel onboard was 46.5 gallons.
The helicopter was equipped with ADS-B, which provided helicopter position information, as well as SPOT Trace, which enabled both flight tracking and two-way text communication. According to the ADS-B data, the helicopter departed LNA and flew south along the coastline and conducted a landing at DT1.
After departing DT1, the helicopter flew northwest, then made a turn back to the east. A review of archived voice communication information from the LNA common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) revealed that the flight instructor first reported their position to be “7 [miles] to the south, straight in for [runway] 34.” About 27 seconds later, the flight instructor made another radio call and reported to a company helicopter that “we’re going to be landing out here in one of these fields, we’ve got something going on with the helicopter.” About 12 seconds later, the company helicopter attempted to contact N478AT, but they did not respond.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying low before it suddenly entered a steep right turn with a nose-low attitude. Subsequently, the helicopter impacted the roof of a vacant warehouse about 6 miles south of LNA and came to rest inverted inside the building. During the impact sequence, the helicopter severed a water line for the building’s sprinkler system, dispersing a large amount of water on the wreckage. There was no postaccident fire.
The main rotor and main rotor gear box were found suspended within the warehouse roof structure, and the main wreckage came to rest inverted below it. The engine core was found in the main wreckage behind the cockpit with the forward engine mounts separated and the aft mount still secured to the airframe. The tailboom was found secured to the airframe, and the tailrotor and empennage were found impact separated and within the main wreckage (see figure 1).
Figure 1. Main wreckage inside vacant warehouse.
During the NTSB’s on-site examination of the main rotor flight controls, the upper right push-pull tube was found separated from the lower rod end (part number D173-2), which remained attached to the upper hydraulic servo piston shaft at the clevis (part number D200-1). The palnut and jam nut that secure the upper right push-pull tube to the rod end could not be rotated by hand on the rod end threads. The upper right push-pull tube was observed to be elongated at the threaded end (see figure 2). Remnants of torque stripe paint was present on the push-pull tube, palnut, and jam nut.
Figure 2. Upper right and left push-pull tubes and rod ends.
The palnuts and jam nuts on the left and aft lower rod ends (part number D173-2) and below the hydraulic servo clevis were found to be finger tight. Varying degrees of corrosion was observed on the palnuts and jam nuts.
Examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical anomaly or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
A review of the airframe maintenance records showed that the most recent maintenance was a 100-hour inspection, which was completed on March 23, 2026, at an airframe total time of 7,486.6 hours and a tach time of 3,091.1 hours. The most recent annual inspection was completed on June 18, 2025, at an airframe total time of 7,090 hours and a tach time of 2,694.7 hours. At the time of the accident, the tach time was 3,092.08 hours, and the engine total time since overhaul was 894 hours.
The flight instructor held flight instructor and commercial pilot certificates with a rating for rotorcraft helicopters, a ground instructor certificate, and a remote pilot certificate. He held a first-class medical certificate issued April 2, 2025, without limitations. According to pilot records obtained from the flight school, the flight instructor had about 822 total hours of civilian flight experience and about 140 hours in the accident helicopter make and model.
The pilot receiving instruction held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land and a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, rotorcraft helicopter, and instrument helicopter. He held a first-class medical certificate issued February 28, 2026, with the limitation, “Not valid for any class after [February 28, 2027]. Must use corrective lens(es) to meet vision standards at all required distances.” On his application for the medical certificate, the pilot reported 5,725 total hours of civilian flight experience and 225 hours in the preceding 6 months.
The three hydraulic servos, push-pull tubes, and rod ends were transported to the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Washington, D.C., for additional examination. - Official record
- View NTSB docket
-
14:30 UTC GAA15CA280 NTSB Accident Same airframe (serial-number match) — previously registered N44XL Location: West Palm Beach, FL, USA Injury: None Damage: Substantial
Record details
- Aircraft
- ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44
- Aircraft identity
- Same airframe as N478AT (R44), serial 1006. This record was filed under a previous registration; the make/model above is shown as recorded by the reporting source, so its wording may differ from the current registry.
- Occurrence
- Landing Simulated/training event
- Operation
- Part 91 — General aviation
- Conditions
- VMC · Day · Wind 20° at 3 kt · Visibility 10 sm
- Operator
- AIRMEN TESTING AND TRAINING INC.
- Phase
- Descent
- Accident narrative
- The helicopter flight instructor reported that during a local instructional flight, he was demonstrating a 180 degree autorotation to the ground. The flight instructor reported he entered the autorotation and everything was normal. During the flare, too much aft cyclic input was used and the helicopter touched down on the heels of the skids. The flight instructor reported the touchdown was not excessively hard or uneven. A post flight examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade had contacted the tail boom, causing substantial damage to the tail boom.
The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. - Factual narrative
- The helicopter flight instructor reported that during a local instructional flight, he was demonstrating a 180 degree autorotation to the ground. The flight instructor reported he entered the autorotation and everything was normal. During the flare, too much aft cyclic input was used and the helicopter touched down on the heels of the skids. The flight instructor reported the touchdown was not excessively hard or uneven. A post flight examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade had contacted the tail boom, causing substantial damage to the tail boom.
The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. - Cause narrative
- The flight instructor's improper use of pitch control during a demonstrated 180 degree autorotation which resulted in damage to the tail boom.
- Findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C; Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Incorrect use/operation - C; Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Fuselage-Rotorcraft tail boom-Damaged/degraded
- Official record
- View NTSB docket
Full safety record preview
Showing 2 of 2 indexed NTSB records for N478AT. Create a free account to view all matched records.
Safety records are matched from official aviation occurrence datasets, with serial/model context shown where available. This is an indexed record check, not an exhaustive safety record. Artifact built .