# Accident 20090605011149A: Amtr ROTORWAY162F, Barre Montpeli, VT, June 5, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 5, 2009, 12:15 local time
- Place: Barre Montpeli, VT
- Airport: Edward F Knapp State
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.2033° N, 72.5622° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.2033&lon=-72.5622&mi=10
- Aircraft: N162RY, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N162RY-2009-08-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: York Ronald J ROTORWAY 162F (registry code 05617JO, https://openairdocs.org/model/york-ronald-j-rotorway-162f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR ROTORWAY162F
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,550 total, 177 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA09LA323](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA323) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090605011149A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 06/05/2009, AT APPROXIMATELY 1210 EDT A, AMATEUR BUILT ROTORWAY 162F HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT MADE A FORCED/HARD LANDING IN BERLIN, VT.  THE ONE PERSON ONBOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED.  VMC PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILLED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM THE MONTPELIER STATE AIRPORT (MPV).  ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO BE LANDING AT MPV.  STATEMENTS FROM THREE WITNESSES CORROBORATE A POPPING SOUND FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THEN THE AIRCRAFT NOSING DOWN UNTIL BELOW THE TREES.  SMOKE WAS SEEN IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING FROM TWO OF THE WITNESSES.  A FOURTH WITNESS WAS DRIVING NEAR THE AIRPORT, REPORTED SHE SAW SOMETHING FALL FROM THE SKY AHEAD HER BETWEEN THE HOSPITAL AND WAL-MART ACCESS ROAD.  SUBSEQUENT SEARCHES OF THE AREA, WHICH WERE WOODED, DID NOT YIELD ANY ITEMS MATCHING THE WITNESS'S DESCRIPTION.  POST CRASH FIRE CONSUMED THE COMPOSITE FUSELAGE, INTERIOR, SEATS, INSTRUMENT PANEL AND ALUMINUM TAILBOOM WAS MELTED BY INTENSE HEAT.  DEBRIS WAS APPROXIMATELY 320 FEET AFT FROM THE IMPACT SITE.  IMPACT SITE DEBRIS, WAS APPROX 50-60 FEET FORWARD AND 30-40 FEET TO THE RIGHT SIDE.  IMPACT FORCED THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM IN DOWNWARD FORCE, FORCING THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY DOWN, DESTROYING THE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM, AND SWASHPLATE ASSEMBLY.  MAIN ROTOR BLADES SUFFERED FIRE DAMAGE AND APPEARED TO HAVE VERY LITTLE IMPACT SITE.  RIGHT TAIL BLADE WAS IMPACTED INTO THE GROUND.  TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SYSTEM IS BELT DRIVE: TRACE PIECES OF THE BELT WERE VISIBLE IN THE TAIL GEARBOX AREA.  ALONG THE TAIL BOOM, THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF TAIL ROTOR BELT MELTED/BURNED IN PLACE.  ENGINE DRIVE BELTS WERE MELTED; THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE OF BELT PIECES ON THE ENGINE DRIVE SYSTEM.  MAIN ROTOR DRIVE BELT WAS COMPROMISED.  THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A MELTED/BURNED BELT IN PLACE.  AIRCRAFT AND PILOT TIME IN MAKE/MODEL ARE FROM THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE LOGBOOK.

## 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 ERA09LA323](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA323), Jun 5, 2009: York Ronald J Rotorway 162F (N162RY), Berlin, VT, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: A loss of control in flight for undetermined reasons.

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.