- Date
- January 30, 2021, 09:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Knoxville, TN · Back yard of residence located at 3000 River Haven Point, Knoxville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N660TNRobinson Helicopter R66
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210130001879A
- Case key
- 102576
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 pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter, which resulted in rear portion of the right skid contacting the ground and a subsequent dynamic rollover.
Findings · 2
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 performed a preflight inspection of the helicopter, which was positioned in the yard of a residence on a slight incline. After starting the engine, and completing the checklist, he lifted to a hover at 6 ft. The helicopter then began to rotate in a counterclockwise direction and the helicopter’s nose pitched up. The rear portion of the right skid contacted the ground and the helicopter to rolled onto its right side. The helicopter’s main rotor, fuselage, and tailboom were substantially damaged. A posaccident examination of the helicopter revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain directional control of the helicopter while transitioning into the hover, and the helicopter experienced a dynamic rollover when the right rear skid contacted the sloped ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N660TN
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R66 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0565
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 681.6
- Engine
- Rolls-Royc 250-C300/A1, 300 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 2020
- Destination
- TYS · Knoxviile, TN
- Airport
- PVT · Yard, runway NONE, 20 × 20 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 27, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 8,829 total · 187 in this make and model · 8,622 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.26 inHg
- Observed at
- KTYS, 8 nm away
- METAR
- KTYS 301453Z 02007KT 10SM OVC090 M01/M06 A3026 RMK AO2 SLP254 T10111061 52001
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 11.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.