# Incident 19970127000919I: Amtr ROTORWAYEXEC, John Day, OR, January 27, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 27, 1997, 09:05 local time
- Place: John Day, OR
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Engine Run-Up
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.4181° N, 118.9563° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of John Day, OR, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.4181&lon=-118.9563&mi=10
- Aircraft: N86PJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N86PJ-2012-09-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Vandevoorde Warren ROTORWAY (registry code 13017KD, https://openairdocs.org/model/vandevoorde-warren-rotorway) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotorway RW152 (registry code 55006, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotorway-rw152) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR ROTORWAYEXEC
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970127000919I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON MONDAY, 1/27/97, AT APPROXIMATELY 0915 HOURS LOCAL, PRIVATE PILOT EVAN J. SHERMAN AND HIS RECENTLY ASSEMBLED AMATEUR-BUILT ROTORWAY HELICOPTER WERE INSIDE A BUILDING ON HIS LAND. AFTER MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM ON THE AIRCRAFT, MR. SHERMAN RETRIEVED A SNOW-COVERED FLAT-BED TRAILER FROM THE SNOWY FREEZING WEATHER OUTSIDE (ABOUT 20 DEGREES F), AND BROUGHT IT INTO THE BUILDING. AFTER AWHILE, WITHOUT REALIZING THAT THE SNOW ON THE FLATBED HAD MELTED DUE TO THE WARMTH IN THE BUILDING, HE PLACED THE HELICOPTER ON THE FLATBED'S WET FLOOR. HE THEN PULLED THE TRAILER OUTSIDE INTO THE COLD. THEN, WITHOUT SECURING THE HELICOPTER TO THE TRAILER FLOOR, HE STARTED IT AND LEFT IT TO WARM UP. AFTER RETURNING TO THE AIRCRAFT ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER, WITH NO INTENTION TO FLY, HE ENTERED IT AND BEGAN TO PERFORM AN OPERATIONAL GROUND RUN, INCLUDING A TRACK AND BALANCE CHECK OF THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM. WHEN MR. SHERMAN GRADUALLY APPLIED POWER, WHICH INADVERTENTLY BECAME EXCESSIVE, THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR SKID, WHICH HAD FROZEN TO THE FLATBED, SUDDENLY BROKE FREE OF THE ICE. THE HELICOPTER THEN SUDDENLY SNAP ROLLED TO THE LEFT, WHICH BROKE THE LEFT LANDING GEAR SKID FREE OF THE ICE. THE HELICOPTER THEN CONTINUED THE INSTANTANEOUS ROLL TO THE LEFT, WHICH CAUSED THE HELICOPTER TO BECOME AIRBORNE SIDEWAYS UNTIL THE ROTOR BLADES STRUCK THE EARTH. THE IMPACTING BLADES THEN WALKED THE HELICOPTER TO DISINTEGRATE ALONG THE WAY. MR. SHERMAN SURVIVED AND WAS HOSPITALIZED DUE TO A BROKEN COLLAR BONE, CRACKED RIBS, AND OTHER BRUISES. THE ASSIGNED INSPECTOR HAS COUNSELED MR. SHERMAN IN GROUND SAFETY PROCEDURES. NO OTHER ACTION IS ANTICIPATED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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