# Incident 20060504007499I: Amtr HELICYCLE, St Louis, MO, May 4, 2006

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 4, 2006, 16:30 local time
- Place: St Louis, MO
- Airport: Spirit Of St Louis Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.6621° N, 90.6520° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SPIRIT OF ST LOUIS (SUS), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.6621&lon=-90.6520&mi=10
- Aircraft: N727X, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N727X) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Murphy John R HELICYCLE (registry code 05619A5, https://openairdocs.org/model/murphy-john-r-helicycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR HELICYCLE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 10,000 total, 25 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060504007499I

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS FLYING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND MAKING AN APPROACH TO THE METRO WEST HELIPORT JUST WEST OF SUS. ON SHORT FINAL AT ABOUT 100 FT AGL AND 45 KNOTS THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. HE LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE TO HASTEN HIS DESCENT. HE FLARED TO REDUCE FORWARD SPEED, LEVELED THE AIRCRAFT AND TOUCHED DOWN. HE LANDED ON A WET DIRT AND GRASS SURFACE. THE SHAKING STOPPED AFTER LANDING. HE WAS ABLE TO PERFORM A NORMAL SHUT-DOWN. DURING THE WHOLE EVENT THE FLIGHT CONTROLS SEEMED TO REACT NORMALLY. THE PILOT STATED THAT IN PREVIOUS FLIGHTS HE HAD EXPERIENCED SOME UNSTABILIZED FLIGHT THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED LIKE AN OUT OF TRACK MAIN ROTOR BUT NEVER LIKE THIS CONDITION OF SEVERE VIBRATION. A WRITTEN STATEMENT BY THE PILOT IS ATTACHED TO THIS REPORT. INSPECTION OF THE HELICOPTER FOUND CONTACT BETWEEN A MAIN ROTOR BLADE AND A TAIL ROTOR BLADE. DAMAGE TO BOTH BLADE TIPS RESULTED. NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE HELICOPTER WAS NOTED. IT IS BELIEVED THIS DAMAGE OCCURRED ON LANDING AND WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE VIBRATION.

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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