Bravo Helicopters owner dies in R44 accident

Bravo Helicopters owner dies in R44 accident

4-Apr-2013 Source: HeliHub.com

Miami-Dade Police have today issued a statement naming Mark Palmieri, aged 53, as the deceased pilot of the R44 which came down in a fatal crash close to Tamiami Airport yesterday. Palmieri was the owner of Bravo Helicopters, which was based at the airport. There is no indication at this time as to the cause of the R44 descending to the ground, although one press report quotes a non-aviation bystander saying there was an explosion in the air before it descended, and that  the NTSB say it was on a post-maintenance test flight.

Photos posted on Twitter such as this one indicate a significant vertical speed to the impact point before the helicopter then caught fire and burnt out. Press reports mainly show the charred remains surrounded by white foam. There is no confirmation either way as to whether this R44 had had the bladder fuel tank upgrade, although the Robinson R44 Service Bulletin SB-78B does state that the fitment of this item is required by 30th April 2013, and is “To improve the R44 fuel system’s resistance to a post-accident fuel leak”.  Another recent fatal R44 accident in Australia had not yet had the modification.

See the HeliHub.com page for this accident at 03-Apr-13 N3101H Robinson R44 Tamiami, US-Florida (2F)

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com

[file photo]

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