- Date
- May 24, 2008, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Gonzales, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N771SSRotorway 162F
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080524839449A
- Case key
- 68084
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
failure of the main rotor drive belt for undetermined reasons.
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 private pilot and his passenger had just departed in a single-engine experimental helicopter when he heard a "loud pop" followed by a loss of engine power. The pilot entered an autorotation from an altitude of 75 feet and flared at approximately 40 feet above the ground to avoid hitting trees. The helicopter landed hard in a grass field and the skids were spread upon impact. The two occupants were able to deplane before the engine exhaust caught the surrounding grass on fire, and subsequently destroyed the helicopter. The pilot reported that the main drive belt, which he had been recently replaced, had failed. The helicopter wreckage was examined by an FAA inspector; however, the drive belt could not be located and it was assumed to have been destroyed in the post-impact fire.
Factual narrative
The private pilot and his passenger had just departed in a single-engine experimental helicopter when he heard a "loud pop" followed by a loss of engine power. The pilot entered an autorotation from an altitude of 75 feet and flared at approximately 40 feet above the ground to avoid hitting trees. The helicopter landed hard in a grass field and the skids were spread upon impact. The two occupants were able to deplane before the engine exhaust caught the surrounding grass on fire, and subsequently destroyed the helicopter. The pilot reported that the main drive belt, which he had been recently replaced, had failed. The helicopter wreckage was examined by an FAA inspector; however, the drive belt could not be located and it was assumed to have been destroyed in the post-impact fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N771SS
- Reported as
- Rotorway 162F
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6174
- Engine
- Rotorway 162F, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jonathan Houser
- Registered owner
- Frank and Beverly Thomas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- T20 · Gonzales, TX
- Destination
- Gonzales, TX
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 111 total · 21 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.