- Date
- October 2, 1992, 15:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Wimberley, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N41KCClatanoff Rotorway Exec
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921002039969A
- Case key
- 18576
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 delamination of the skin on a main rotor blade.
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 pilot was in cruise flight in his homebuilt helicopter when an inflight breakup was initiated by the skin delamination of one of his main rotor blades. The dynamic imbalance and divergent flapping of his rotor system caused the main rotor blades to strike the tailboom and portions of the airframe. Witnesses reported an explosion and inflight fire prior to the uncontrolled descent to the ground. The wreckage was dispersed for 750 yards.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41KC
- Reported as
- Clatanoff Rotorway Exec (ROTORWAY E)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 80E2912C
- Airframe hours
- 42
- Engine
- Rotorway RW 152, 152 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Clatanoff, Kevin J.
- Registered owner
- Clatanoff, Kevin J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · September 27, 1992 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Buda, 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
- 52
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Military, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 42 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- T98, 26 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.