- Date
- December 22, 2007, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Maria, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N66012Brooks Exec 162F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20071222830139A
- Case key
- 67321
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 during hover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in rotorcraft.
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 pilot was hovering his amateur built experimental helicopter for the first time. Upon liftoff, the helicopter began drifting to the left, and the pilot lowered the collective without controlling the drift to the left. The left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and rolled over coming to rest on its left side. The pilot had a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. He was not rated in helicopters and his total time in rotorcraft was 12 hours, all of which were dual instruction in the accident make and model of helicopter.
Factual narrative
The pilot was hovering his amateur built experimental helicopter for the first time. Upon liftoff, the helicopter began drifting to the left, and the pilot lowered the collective without controlling the drift to the left. The left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and rolled over coming to rest on its left side. The pilot had a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. He was not rated in helicopters and his total time in rotorcraft was 12 hours, all of which were dual instruction in the accident make and model of helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66012
- Reported as
- Brooks Exec 162F
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6876
- Engine
- Rotorway 162F, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- SMX · Santa Maria, CA
- Destination
- SMX
- Airport
- SMX · Santa Maria Public
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 100 total · 12 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.