- Date
- July 12, 1989, 04:10 local (12:10 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5577GScorpion II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890712026479A
- Case key
- 5093
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Unqualified person at the flight controls, who was unable to maintain control of the helicopter. The nearby building (airport facility) was a contributing factor.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to local police officials, the helicopter was being taken on an unauthorized flight when it collided with a nearby airport building. The person at the flight controls was not determined, but police officials identified a person that they believed had attempted to take the helicopter. This person had no FAA flight certificate & was presumed to have had no previous flight experience as a pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5577G
- Reported as
- Scorpion II
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- TB-02
- Airframe hours
- 12
- Engine
- Johnson RW-133, 133 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Zeman, Steven
- Registered owner
- Steve Zeman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- MRI · Merrill Field
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Seat
- Right
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MRI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.