- Date
- April 18, 1992, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hudsonville, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6617LRose Wesley Rotorway WR Exec
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920418010419A
- Case key
- 15237
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 failure of an intake valve spring. Factors related to the accident were the low altitude at which the autorotation was initiated and the soft terrain on which the helicopter was landed.
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 experimental helicopter was climbing out from takeoff when the engine began to malfunction. The helicopter was 40 feet above the ground when the pilot had to initiate a forced landing. An auto rotation configuration was attempted but not fully established due to the low initiating altitude. The helicopter landed onto a soft field and rolled over after its skids dug into the surface. The investigation revealed the engine malfunction was caused by a broken intake valve spring.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6617L
- Reported as
- Rose Wesley Rotorway WR Exec (ROTORWAY W)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 10001
- Airframe hours
- 207
- Engine
- Rotorway RW152/1947, 152 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rose, Wesley A. Sr.
- Registered owner
- Rose, Wesley A. Sr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 8, 1992 · 15 hours before
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 130 total · 130 in this make and model · 83 as pilot in command · 7.3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GRR, 15 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.