# Accident 20210807014969A: Seeley Craig SEELEY 162F, Argyle, NY, August 7, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 7, 2021, 18:10 local time
- Place: Argyle, NY
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.2101° N, 73.5068° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.2101&lon=-73.5068&mi=10
- Aircraft: N162KJ, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N162KJ) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Seeley Craig SEELEY 162F (registry code 05615CA, https://openairdocs.org/model/seeley-craig-seeley-162f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SEELEY CRAIG SEELEY 162F
- Reported engine: ROTORWAY R1262F
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA21FA317](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21FA317) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210807014969A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 7, 2021, AT 1810 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL, AMATEUR-BUILT ROTORWAY EXEC 162F HELICOPTER, N162KJ, CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE FROM THE MAIN ROAD.

THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF A STEEP HILL AND CAME TO REST ON ITS RIGHT SIDE AND TOP, ALMOST COMPLETELY INVERTED, LARGELY CONSUMED BY A POST IMPACT FIRE.

THE ACCIDENT SCENE REVELATED A DEBRIS PATH ABOUT 400 FEET LONG, ORIENTED ON A HEADING OF 210 DEGREES MAGNETIC.  IT BEGAN IN AN OPEN FIELD OF 4-FT TALL GRASS, WITH A 4 INCH BY 4 INCH FRACTURED PIECES OF ALUMINUM SKIN FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TAIL BOOM, JUST FOREWORD OF THE TAIL ROTOR ARC.  THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS LOCATED 156 FEET ALONG THE WRECKAGE PATH, AND THE LEFT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS LOCATED ABOUT 10 FEET FURTHER DOWN THE PATH.

A 4 FOOT SECTION OF THE AFT END OF THE TAIL BOOM, INCLUDING THE VERTICAL STABILIZER, AND TAIL ROTOR GEAR BOX (WITH ONE TAIL ROTOR BLADE ATTACHED) WAS LOCATED 30 FEET FURTHER DOWN THE PATH JUST AFTER THE PATH TRANSITIONED FROM THE GRASS FIELD THROUGH THE TREE LINE INTO A WOODED AREA.  AN IMPACT MARK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TAIL BOOM SECTION, NEAR THE FRACTURED FOREWORD END WAS CONSISTENT IN SIZE AND SHAPE WITH THE PROFILE OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE.  THE NTSB VERBALLY DECLARED THE AIRCRAFT DESTROYED.

BOTH THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED.  THE PILOT HELD A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE WITH A RATING FOR AIRPLANE-SINGLE ENGINE LAND.  HE DID NOT POSSESS A HELICOPTER RATING OR 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 ERA21FA317](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21FA317), Aug 7, 2021: Rotorway Exec 162F (N162KJ), Argyle, NY, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s abrupt control inputs, which resulted in a low G condition, main rotor mast bumping, and the subsequent severing of the tail boom by 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.

---
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.