# NTSB LAX06CA033: Rotorway 162F, N321JN, Chandler, AZ, November 13, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: November 13, 2005, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Chandler, AZ - Coordinates: 33.266666, -111.816665 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.2667&lon=-111.8167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 62819 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06CA033 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62819/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06CA033 ## Probable cause a loss of engine power due to fuel contamination (rust, water) as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight planning preparation. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - preflight planning/preparation - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid - contamination (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - autorotation - initiated, pilot in command - Hard landing, emergency landing ## Analysis The helicopter made a hard landing while executing an autorotation after a loss of engine power in-flight. The pilot fueled the helicopter with automotive fuel from cans in the morning prior to practicing in the traffic pattern for 1 hour at Phoenix Regional Airport. He landed, refueled from the same fuel source he had in the morning, and departed to Chandler. About 5 minutes into the flight, the pilot experienced a decrease in engine power and a drop in rotor rpm every time he raised the collective. He selected a landing site and chose to make an emergency landing. The pilot began an autorotation at about 1,000 feet above ground level and maneuvered toward his landing area, which was a water retention basin surrounded by trees. After just clearing the trees, and about 30 feet off the ground, he began a flare and touched down, stopping the helicopter within 20 feet. He exited the helicopter and noticed he had lost a tail rotor blade and the tail boom had a stress wrinkle in it. The pilot towed the helicopter back to his home and discovered rust and water in a fuel sample taken from the aircraft and the containers used to refuel the helicopter. ## Factual narrative On November 13, 2005, about 1530 mountain standard time, a Rotorway 162F, N321JN, made a hard landing near Chandler, Arizona. The pilot was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Phoenix, Arizona, about 1500, with a planned destination of Chandler, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. In a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board the pilot stated that he made a hard landing after suffering a loss of engine power in flight. The pilot fueled the helicopter with automotive fuel from cans in the morning prior to practicing in the traffic pattern for 1 hour at Phoenix Regional Airport. He landed, refueled from the same fuel source he had in the morning, and departed to Chandler. About 5 minutes into the flight, the pilot experienced a decrease in engine power and a drop in rotor rpm every time he raised the collective. He selected a landing site and chose to make an emergency landing. The pilot began an autorotation about 1,000 feet above ground level and maneuvered toward his landing area, which was a water retention basin surrounded by trees. After just clearing the trees, and about 30 feet off the ground, he began a flare and touched down, stopping the helicopter within 20 feet. He exited the helicopter and noticed he had lost a tail rotor blade and the tail boom had a stress wrinkle in it. The pilot towed the helicopter back to his home and discovered rust and water in a fuel sample taken from the aircraft and the containers used to refuel the helicopter. There were no other indications of anything else that could have caused the loss of power. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: N321JN (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Rotorway 162F - Category: Helicopter, amateur-built - Serial number: 6066 - Airframe hours: 110 - Engines: Rotorway 162 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Michael Spanos - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, October 1, 2005, 21 hours before - Departed: A39, Phoenix, AZ - Destination: CHD, Chandler, AZ ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; last flight review August 1, 2005; seat: left; flight hours: 189 total, 40 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 280° at 7 knots - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 36 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: CHD ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20051113029379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051113029379A), Nov 13, 2005: Amtr EXEC162F, Chandler, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot departed maricopa/phoenix regional airport (A39) and was enroute to Chandler airport (chd) when at an established cruise altitude the engine… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.