- Date
- May 31, 2024, 20:40 local (Jun 1, 2024, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- New Hill, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N331PFRuth Hummingbird
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 9, 2026
- 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
- 20240531019879A
- Case key
- 194381
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 control of the helicopter while hovering.
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
**This report was modified on 4/2/2026. Please see the docket for the original report.** During an evening test flight, the pilot was hovering the experimental amateur-built helicopter just above the ground to track the main rotor blades with light emitting diodes (LEDs) attached to the blade tips to address a main rotor vibration. He stated that he was distracted by the LED lights and lost control of the helicopter and that “there was nothing wrong with the aircraft.” The helicopter came to rest on its side and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. Although the pilot reported no control issues with the helicopter, both the FAA inspector who examined it and the kit manufacturer reported deficiencies with the pilot’s build that would be expected to adversely affect its handling characteristics. According to the kit manufacturer, these included the installation of nonstandard flight control components (from a different helicopter make and model) and other modifications from the original design. However, the extent to which the pilot’s modifications contributed to the outcome could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N331PF
- Reported as
- Ruth Hummingbird (300L)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1907
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 85.3
- Engine
- Continental VA540NND1NG, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 21, 2024 · 85.3 hours before
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Unknown
- Last flight review
- September 21, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 85 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.24 inHg
- Observed at
- TTA, 10 nm away
- METAR
- KTTA 010045Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 16/13 A3024 RMK AO2 T01640130
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 2, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 17.4 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.