Robinson Helicopter R44 II N549TS accident near Van Nuys, California, April 28, 2023
Robinson Helicopter R44 II, registration N549TS, was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California on April 28, 2023. The NTSB lists the highest injury level as none. Case WPR23LA170 is completed.
ADS-B receivers recorded 30 minutes of the flight after departing the Van Nuys Arpt area (KVNY), reaching a maximum of 3,400 ft. The last recorded position was at 22:22 UTC, at 1,300 ft and 77 knots, descending at 576 feet per minute, about 2 km from Van Nuys Arpt (KVNY).
The nearest weather report, from KVNY (2 km away), showed wind 130° at 12 knots, visibility 6 miles or more, no ceiling reported (VFR conditions).
The aircraft is a Robinson R44 Raven II registered in United States (Mode S A6FB15).
This page reconstructs the flight from public ADS-B data for information only. The NTSB report is the authority on what happened and why.
Key facts
- Date
- April 28, 2023
- Location
- Van Nuys, California
- Aircraft
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II
- Registration
- N549TS
- Injuries
- None
- NTSB case
- WPR23LA170 (Completed)
- Departure area
- Van Nuys Arpt (KVNY)
- Nearest airport
- Van Nuys Arpt (KVNY)
- Recorded flight
- 30 min, max 3,400 ft
- Last recorded position
- 22:22 UTC, 1,300 ft, 77 kt
3D flight replay
Replay the recorded flight in 3D with the weather, light and terrain at the time, flight instruments reconstructed from the aircraft's ADS-B transmissions, and automatically detected events.
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- Boeing 777-222 N796UA, San Francisco, California, October 5, 2026
- Cessna A185F N185TT, Madera, California, October 1, 2026
- Cessna 172N N75513, Knights Landing, California, October 1, 2026
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II N24DF, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, August 16, 2025
- Robinson Helicopter R44 II N128AF, Chicago, Illinois, March 10, 2025
Sources: NTSB case WPR23LA170; ADS-B flight data from adsb.lol (ODbL); weather from NOAA / Iowa Environmental Mesonet and Open-Meteo.