# Accident 19990408003389A: Amtr ROTORWAYEXEC, Fort Myers, FL, April 8, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 8, 1999, 15:15 local time
- Place: Fort Myers, FL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hovering
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.6706° N, 81.7598° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.6706&lon=-81.7598&mi=10
- Aircraft: N31788 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: AMTR ROTORWAYEXEC
- Reported engine: AMTRRW ROTWY152
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,615 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99LA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA121) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990408003389A

## Narrative

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

EXPERIMENTAL ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE HELICOPTER WAS HOVERING OVER THE DRIVEWAY OF THE PILOT'S HOME WHEN THE ROTOR STRUCK A TREE, THE ACFT LOST CONTROL, AND THE ACFT CRASHED AND ROLLED OVER ON THE GROUND, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN.  (FROM .19)  ON APRIL 8, 1999, ABOUT 1515 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A FREDERICK SWEET ROTORWAY EXEC, N31788, REGISTERED TO AN INDIVIDUAL, COLLIDED WITH A TREE WHILE HOVERING AT FORT MYERS, FLORIDA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE HELICOPTER RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.  THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT STATED HE HAD CHAINED THE HELICOPTER TO THE GROUND WITH A 2-FOOT-LONG CHAIN.  HE ONLY PLANNED TO HOVER THE HELICOPTER.  HE STARTED THE HELICOPTER'S ENGINE AND LIFTED THE HELICOPTER INTO A HOVER.  THE CHAIN BROKE, THE HELICOPTER ROLLED TO THE SIDE, AND THE MAIN ROTOR CONTACTED A PALM TREE.  THE HELICOPTER THEN CAME TO REST ON ITS SIDE.(.4) ON APRIL 8, 1999, ABOUT 1515 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A FREDERICK SWEET ROTORWAY EXEC, N31788, REGISTERED TO AN INDIVIDUAL, COLLIDED WITH A   TREE WHILE HOVERING AT FORT MYERS, FLORIDA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT STATED HE HAD CHAINED THE HELICOPTER TO THE GROUND WITH A 2-FOOT-LONG CHAIN. HE ONLY PLANNED TO HOVER THE HELICOPTER. HE STARTED THE HELICOPTER'S ENGINE AND LIFTED THE HELICOPTER INTO A HOVER. THE CHAIN BROKE, THE HELICOPTER ROLLED TO THE SIDE, AND THE MAIN ROTOR CONTACTED A PALM TREE. THE HELICOPTER THEN CAME TO REST ON ITS SIDE.          (-23)PILOT STATES HE HAD ROTORCRAFT AIRCRAFT CHAINED TO A TREE.  HE STARTED AIRCRAFT TO RUN IT UP.  HE APPLY COLLECTIVE POWER AND THE ROTORCRAFT WENT INTO A 2 FOOT HOVER.  CHAIN PULLED FROM THE TREE, PILOT LOSS CONTROL OF THE ROTORCRAFT, MAIN ROTOR BLADE STRUCK TREE CAUSING THE ROTORCRAFT TO TURN OVER.  PILOT NOT RATED IN HELICOPTER/ROTORCRAFT NOR DID HE HAVE A CURRENT MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.

## 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 MIA99LA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA121), Apr 8, 1999: Frederick Sweet Rotorway Exec (N31788), Fort Myers, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain aircraft control after the ground tie chain separated during engine run and hovering operations.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.