- Date
- January 1, 2001, 15:29 local (23:29 UTC)
- Place
- Placerville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N94LWWallace Rotorway Exec 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010101027539A
- Case key
- 50854
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 failure of the student pilot to maintain adequate ground clearance while hovering.
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
The student pilot finished building the helicopter and this was its first flight. He had received 11 hours of flight instruction and was endorsed for hover only solo. The pilot reported that he was 1-2 feet in the air and as he began backing the helicopter the tail rotor guard struck the ground, the main rotor struck the tail boom, and the left skid struck the ground. The skid collapsed and the helicopter rolled over. After exiting, the pilot attempted to right the helicopter, but fuel leaking from the fuel cap ignited when it contacted the exhaust. The helicopter was destroyed in the subsequent fire.
Factual narrative
On January 1, 2001, at 1529 hours Pacific standard time, a Wallace Rotorway Exec 152 amateur-built helicopter, N94LW, was destroyed when it rolled over from a hover and subsequently caught fire at a private airstrip near Placerville, California. The helicopter was operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local solo instructional flight, which was departing at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated to a deputy sheriff, who responded to the scene, that he had just finished building the helicopter and this was its "maiden voyage." He had been receiving instruction towards his private pilot certificate and was endorsed for hover only solo.
He reported that he was hovering in a dirt field and as he started to back the helicopter the tail rotor guard struck the ground, the main rotor flapped down striking the tail boom, and the left skid hit the ground and collapsed. The helicopter then rolled over.
After exiting the helicopter the pilot attempted to roll the helicopter upright but fuel leaking from the fuel cap ignited when it contacted the engine exhaust. The helicopter was destroyed in the subsequent fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94LW
- Reported as
- Wallace Rotorway Exec 152
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 71851
- Airframe hours
- 1
- Engine
- Rotorway RW-152, 152 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Anthony Colbert
- Registered owner
- Daniel Wallace
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 61Q · Placerville, CA
- Destination
- Placerville, CA
- Airport
- Private
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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- October 19, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11 total · 11 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- MHR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.