- Date
- July 22, 2000, 15:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Kalamazoo, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1183MLutke Rotoway Exec 90
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000722036649A
- Case key
- 49819
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 main rotor rpm due to the failure of the top engine mount and the subsequent loss of the main rotor drive belt tension. A factor was the confined area landing zone.
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 reported he was flying his experimental helicopter about 700 feet above ground level in cruise flight when the top motor mount made of cast aluminum broke. He reported that the belt tension to the main rotor was lost and he was unable to maintain rotor rpm. He executed an autorotation to a small back yard surrounded by trees. The helicopter landed hard and the main rotor blades flexed down and chopped off the tailboom.
Factual narrative
On July 22, 2000, at 1535 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Lutke Rotoway Exec 90 helicopter, N1183M, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a malfunction of the rotor system and the subsequent loss of power and hard landing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and his passenger reported no injuries. The flight had departed from Newman Airport (4NO), Kalamazoo, Michigan, at about 1500.
The pilot reported he was flying his experimental helicopter about 700 feet above ground level in cruise flight when the top motor mount made of cast aluminum broke. He reported that the belt tension to the main rotor was lost and he was unable to maintain rotor rpm. He executed an autorotation to a small back yard that was surrounded by trees. The helicopter landed hard and the main rotor blades flexed down and chopped off the tailboom.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1183M
- Reported as
- Lutke Rotoway Exec 90 (ROTOWAY EX)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- J123151
- Airframe hours
- 175
- Engine
- Rotorway EXEC 150, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael T Lutke
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 4NO · MI
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 158 total · 158 in this make and model · 68 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 154 °F, dew point 127 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AZO, 10 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.