# Accident 19980413006739A: Amtr ROTORWAYEXEC, Sand Springs, OK, April 13, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 13, 1998, 18:45 local time
- Place: Sand Springs, OK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.1296° N, 96.1294° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1296&lon=-96.1294&mi=10
- Aircraft: N71RF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N71RF-2013-05-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Froberg Ronald D ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE (registry code 13015KF, https://openairdocs.org/model/froberg-ronald-d-rotorway-executive) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotorway RW-145 series (registry code 55005, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotorway-rw-145-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR ROTORWAYEXEC
- Reported engine: AMTRRW ROTWY145
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 580 total, 30 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA182) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980413006739A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 13, 1998, AT 1845 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME A FROBERG ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE ECPERIMENTAL HELICOPTER, N71RF, OWNED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDAUL AS A TITLE 14 CFR 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, WAS DESTOYED AFTER A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING AN IN FLIGHT FIRE NEAR SAND SPRINGS OKLAHOMA. VISAUL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILELD, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE PRIVATE PILOT SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE HELICOPTER WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM WEST PORT OKLAHOMA APPROXIMATELY 6 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED IN THE PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT (NTSB FORM 6120.1/2) THAT HE WAS FLYING THE HELICOPTER TO THE WILLIAM R. POGUE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, SAND SPRINGS, OKLAHOMA, FOR FUEL. APPROXIMATELY 6 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT OBSERVED SMOKE ENTERING THE COCKPIT FROM THE RIGHT SIDE AND NOTED A LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE. HE EXECUTED AN AUTOROTATION TO A FIELD OF TALL DRY GRASS AND EXITED THE HELICOPTER. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN CONSUMED BY THE FIRE WITHING A FEW MINUTES. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE FAA INSPECTOR THAT "THERE WAS OIL LEAK AND OIL WAS DRIPPING ON THE EXHAUST PIPE." EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE BY THE FAA INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT IT WAS DESTROYED BY THE  FIRE. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR, THE PILOT HAD PURCHASED THE FROBERG ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE HELICOPTER ABOUT A YEAR PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THE AIRCRAFT ABOUT 30 HOURS SINCE PURCHASING IT AND HAD NOT REGISTERED IT. NO MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN PREFORMED ON THE HELICOPTER IN THE LAST 20 HOURS. (-23) NO NARRATIVE.

## 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 FTW98LA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA182), Apr 13, 1998: Froberg Rotorway Executive (N71RF), Sand Springs, OK, destroyed. Probable cause: The failure of the owner/pilot to complete maintenance on the helicopter.

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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