- Date
- June 29, 1985, 12:49 local (18:49 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Junction, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N45877Kokes Scorpion 133
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850629031889A
- Case key
- 16576
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
A group of plts were preparing for an airshow flyby. As a formation of airplanes were being taxied to rwy 29, the plt of a home built scorpion 133 helicopter, N45877, was cleared to air taxi across rwy 29 & proceed to rwy 22. As the helicopter plt was approaching rwy 22 & was in a descending left turn, a home built airplane was taking off on the same rwy (22). To avoid a possible collision, the helicopter plt made a hard left turn & 'pushed it to the ground' between rwy 22 & the parallel taxiway. During touchdown, the helicopter rolled over. The plt stated that the landing was not hard. He believed that gyroscopic precession caused the helicopter to roll over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N45877
- Reported as
- Kokes Scorpion 133 (SCORPION 1)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 12598
- Airframe hours
- 1,756
- Engine
- Rotorway RW133, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert L. Kokes
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 19, 1985 · 94 hours before
- Departed
- GJT
- Destination
- GJT
- Airport
- GJT · Walker Field, runway 22, 5,366 × 100 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 478 total · 170 in this make and model · 426 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 90 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GJT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.