- Date
- October 19, 2002, 14:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Opelousas, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N838MCCarriere RW-152 Scorpion II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- FAA report
- 20021019031369A
- Case key
- 55890
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 inadequate compensation for wind resulting in a loss of control. A contributing factor was the gusting wind conditions.
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 homebuilt helicopter was substantially damaged upon impact with terrain following a loss of control while landing. The purpose of the flight was to conduct a maintenance test flight to verify the balance and tracking of the main rotor system after lead/lag adjustments were made. The student pilot stated that upon return from the successful flight, he lost control of the aircraft after encountering a gust of wind. The helicopter spun approximately 20 times to the right, and the rotor blades contacted the ground. The pilot stated that the wind direction was 180 degrees and the wind speed was 35 knots at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On October 19, 2002, at 1420 central daylight time, a Carriere RW-152 Scorpion II homebuilt helicopter, N838MC, was substantially damaged upon impact with terrain following a loss of control while landing near Opelousas, Louisiana. The student pilot, sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The local flight departed from a private field at 1330.
The pilot reported that some work had been performed on the main rotor head at the factory. The pilot installed new elastomeric bearing blocks and re-installed the rotor blades. The pilot ran the helicopter to smooth-out the rotor system prior to taking the helicopter on a flight to verity the balance and tracking of the main rotor system after all lead/lag adjustments were made.
The pilot hovered the helicopter over the fence into a nearby field where he hovered and flew (at 10 feet or below) across the field for about 30 minutes. The pilot reported that the selected field was surrounded by tall trees, and he failed to notice the approaching inclement weather.
The pilot elected to terminate his flight and return to the private field for a full-stop landing. The pilot climbed the helicopter to about 30 feet above the ground in order to clear some trees when a "gust of wind blew from the passenger side and made the helicopter start to spin to the right." The helicopter spun approximately 20 times to the right, the rotor blades contacted the ground, and the helicopter came to rest on its right side.
The student pilot had accumulated 90.2 hours in the accident helicopter.
Examination of the helicopter by the pilot revealed that both main rotor blades were structurally damaged, the main drive transmission drive shaft was bent, the cabin was distorted and fractured, and the tailboom was bent. The left main landing gear skid was found collapsed.
The pilot estimated the wind was from 180 degrees at 35 knots, at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N838MC
- Reported as
- Carriere RW-152 Scorpion II
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- RW-2827
- Airframe hours
- 190
- Engine
- Rotorway RW-152, 152 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert F. Moreau Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 19, 2002 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- Opelousas, LA
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
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 90 total · 20 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 35 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.