- Date
- October 14, 2006, 14:58 local (18:58 UTC)
- Place
- Aiken, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N848TLLawing Thomas R Exec 162-F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20061014023809A
- Case key
- 64708
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
The pilot’s failure to adequately compensate for wind conditions during takeoff which resulted in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness and a roll over during an attempted forced landing.
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
The pilot stated "I started to lift off from the Aiken Airport when a tailwind, estimated by a CFI who was nearby, of 20+ mph caught my tail. I lost tail rotor control at [approximately] 10 [feet] off the ground. As N848TL spun around, I lowered the collective and struck the pavement. The helicopter rolled onto the pilot’s side [and] stopped."
Factual narrative
On October 14, 2006, at 1458 eastern daylight time, a Lawing, Thomas R., Exec 162-F, experimental helicopter, N848TL, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91, personal flight, collided with the runway during takeoff from the Aiken Municipal Airport in Aiken, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plane was filed. The helicopter received substantial damage. The private pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, "I started to lift off from the Aiken Airport when a tailwind, estimated by a CFI who was nearby, of 20+ mph caught my tail. I lost tail rotor control at [approximately] 10 [feet] off the ground. As N848TL spun around, I lowered the collective and struck the pavement. The helicopter rolled onto the pilot’s side [and] stopped. There were many spectators nearby who removed us from the aircraft." Damage to the helicopter consisted of the tail boom, tail rotor, and main rotor.
The 1553 surface weather observation at Augusta Regional Airport, Augusta, Georgia, located 21 nautical miles southwest of the crash site was wind 250 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear of clouds, temperature 66 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point temperature 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and altimeter 30.00.
According to an FAA Inspector, the helicopter lost tail rotor effectiveness and landed on the taxiway on its right side causing substantial damage. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N848TL
- Reported as
- Lawing Thomas R Exec 162-F
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6544
- Airframe hours
- 82
- Engine
- Rotorway 162-F, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · October 1, 2006 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- AIK · Aiken, SC
- Destination
- AIK · Aiken, SC
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
- Age
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 1, 2005
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 900 total · 97 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AGS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.