# Accident 19970909025999A: Amtr MINI500, Idabel, OK, September 9, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 9, 1997, 13:30 local time
- Place: Idabel, OK
- Airport: Idabel Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.9000° N, 94.8097° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9000&lon=-94.8097&mi=10
- Aircraft: N42JR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N42JR-2000-01-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Roddie Jackson MINI-500 (registry code 05604G2, https://openairdocs.org/model/roddie-jackson-mini-500) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR MINI500
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX582
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 25,000 total, 6 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA339](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA339) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970909025999A

## Narrative

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

TRIED FIRST AUTOROTATION IN HOMEBUILT HELICOPTER. LOST CONTROL. DESTROYED ON GROUND IMPACT. INADEQUATE CHECK OUT.(.4) A WITNESS, WHO WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE PILOT AND ASSISTED BUILDING THE HELICOPTER, OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT OPERATING APPROXIMATELY 2,000 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND ABOUT 500 FEET FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 35. HE THEN HEARD THE ENGINE SLOW DOWN AND GO INTO `NEGATIVE PITCH MODE.' THE WITNESS OBSERVED THE HELICOPTER IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE AND THEN HEARD A LOUD BOOM. HE SAID THAT THE HELICOPTER CAME TO A STOP AND THEN HE SAW PIECES FALLING OFF THE HELICOPTER. THE 25,000 HOUR CAREER AIRLINE CAPTAIN HAD ABOUT 6 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT TIME IN HELICOPTERS. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1997, AT 1426 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME A REVOLUTION MINI 500 HELICOPTER, N42JR, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL IMMEDIATELY AFTER INITIATING AN ATTEMPT TO EXECUTE AN AUTOROTATION FROM AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 2,000 FEET AGL TO RUNWAY 35 AT IDABEL, OK, AIRPORT. THE AMATEUR BUILT HELICOPTER WAS OWNED BY THE ATP PILOT AND WAS ON A LOCAL PLEASURE FLIGHT, 14 CFR PART 91, VISUAL METEOROL                                                                       OGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. THE PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97LA339](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA339), Sep 9, 1997: Roddie MINI-500 (N42JR), Idabel, OK, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of control in flight for undetermined reasons. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in helicopters.

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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