- Date
- November 15, 2024, 04:47 local (10:47 UTC)
- Place
- Blaine, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N280PRotorway Exec 162 F
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- Case key
- 195497
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
A loss of engine power that resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 1
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 pilot reported that while hover taxiing the helicopter back to his hangar after a short practice flight, the experimental engine lost power, and he was unable to maintain altitude. Due to the low altitude and the rapid loss of power, the pilot was not able to autorotate, and the helicopter impacted the ground and rolled onto its right side. The fuselage and tail boom sustained substantial damage. Subsequent test runs of the helicopter’s experimental engine did not reveal a reason for the power loss that occurred.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N280P
- Reported as
- Rotorway Exec 162 F
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6326
- Built
- 2012
- Engine
- Rotorway RI-162F, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- ANE · Anoka County/Blaine (Janes Fld)
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 71
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 240 total · 20 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 0.25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KANE
- METAR
- METAR KANE 151055Z AUTO 00000KT 1/4SM FG OVC001 03/03 A3006 RMK AO2=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.8 MB in all.