- Date
- October 10, 2008, 18:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Rutland, SD
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N162NJHolland Rotorway 162F
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Rapid City FSDO
- FAA report
- 20081010850289A
- Case key
- 69317
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 loss of torque due to a failure of a transmission drivebelt and the pilot's delayed landing flare during the autorotation. Contributing to the accident was the dusk light condition and the corn crop.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The helicopter pilot reported that during the local area flight he heard "loud noises" behind the cockpit that were followed by a loss of torque to the rotor system. He immediately initiated an autorotation into a cornfield. The tailboom stinger contacted the ground during the landing flare, which pushed the tailboom up into the path of the main rotor system. The helicopter then landed hard and rolled over onto its right side. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had initiated his flare about two feet higher, but at the time he was unsure of his altitude above the ground due to the corn crop and the dusk light condition. A postaccident inspection of the helicopter revealed that one of the transmission drive belts had failed and another belt had separated from its pulley assembly.
Factual narrative
The helicopter pilot reported that during the local area flight he heard "loud noises" behind the cockpit which was followed by a loss of torque to the rotor system. He immediately initiated an autorotation into a cornfield. The tailboom stinger contacted the ground during the landing flare, which pushed the tailboom up into the path of the main rotor system. The helicopter then landed hard and rolled over onto its right side. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had initiated his flare about two feet higher, but at the time he was unsure of his altitude above the ground due to the corn crop and the dusk light condition. A post-accident inspection of the helicopter revealed that one of the transmission drive belts had failed and another belt had separated from its pulley assembly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N162NJ
- Reported as
- Holland Rotorway 162F
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6064
- Airframe hours
- 261
- Engine
- Rotorway 162F, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · November 17, 2007
- Departed
- PVT · Wentworth, SD
- Destination
- PVT · Wentworth, SD
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
- 43
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 21, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 588 total · 67 in this make and model · 524 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 30° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KBKX, 14 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.