# Accident 19971219039299A: Amtr BIHN500, Gettysburg, OH, December 19, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 19, 1997, 14:50 local time
- Place: Gettysburg, OH
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1193° N, 84.5009° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1193&lon=-84.5009&mi=10
- Aircraft: N727EB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N727EB-2015-05-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bihn Edward J BIHN 500 (registry code 05605C3, https://openairdocs.org/model/bihn-edward-j-bihn-500) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Bombardier ROTAX (ALL) (registry code 09050, https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR BIHN500
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX582
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 10,000 total, 12 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA049](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA049) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971219039299A

## Narrative

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

HEARD TO THROTTLE BACK LEVEL FLIGHT TAIL ROSE. STRUCK BY MAIN ROTOR. FELL TO GROUND. TYPICAL OF ABRUPT CYLIC USE. (.4)THE HOMEBUILT MINI 500 HELICOPTER WAS IN LEVEL FLIGHT ABOUT 900 TO 1200 FEET, WHEN THE ENGINE SOUNDS STOPPED.  THE HELICOPTER'S NOSE DROPPED, AND ONE MAIN ROTOR BLADE STRUCK THE TAILBOOM AND SEPARATED FROM THE ROTOR HEAD.  THE HELICOPTER DESCENDED AND STRUCK THE GROUND 90 DEGREES NOSE DOWN.  EXAMINATION OF THE NON-CERTIFICATED 2 CYCLE ROTAX ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL A REASON FOR THE POWER LOSS.  THE ENGINE MANUFACTURER PUBLISHED THE MAXIMUM CONTINUOUS RPM AS 6,500.  OTHER BUILDERS REPORTED THAT WHEN THE HELICOPTER'S ROTOR RPM WAS OPERATED AT THE TOP OF THE GREEN ARC, THE ENGINE OPERATED ABOUT 6,700 RPM.  THE NTSB DATABASE REVEALED 23 MINI-500 ACCIDENTS IN 1997 AND 1998.  TWELVE OF THOSE INVOLVED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.  THE ROTAX OPERATOR'S MANUAL STATED, '...THIS ENGINE BY DESIGN IS SUBJECT TO SUDDEN STOPPAGE...NEVER FLY THE AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED WITH THIS ENGINE AT LOCATIONS, AIRSPEEDS, ALTITUDES...FROM WHICH A SUCCESSFUL NO-POWER LANDING CANNOT BE MADE...'      (-23) WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FLIGHT.  SEVERA                                    L WITNESSES REPORTED THEY HEARD THE ENGINE NOISE GO AWAY INDICATING A LOSS OF POWER FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. THE WITNESSES FURTHER STATED THAT THEY OBSERVED THE TAILBOOM GO INTO THE MAIN ROTOR, AND ONE OF THE ROTORBLADES DEPART THE AIRCRAFT.  THE AIRCRAFT THEN MOVED ERRATICALLY FOR A SHORT TIME.  THE AIRCRAFT THEN PITCHED DOWN 100 DEGREES AND IMPACTED THE GROUND IN THAT ATTITUDE.  THE PILOT, WHO WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS FATALLY INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 NYC98LA049](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA049), Dec 19, 1997: Bihn Mini 500 (N727EB), Gettysburg, OH, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, followed by the main rotor striking the tailboom, which resulted in the separation of a main rotor blade.

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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