- Date
- August 5, 2012, 15:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Colville, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N156RWRotorway Exec
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Roll over
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 26, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120805015009A
- Case key
- 84576
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 lack of experience in the helicopter, which resulted in his failure to maintain ground clearance during the taxi hover, followed by inadvertent ground contact and rollover.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The private pilot with an airplane single-engine land rating was learning to fly his son's experimental amateur-built helicopter and had accumulated about 20 hours in type. His plan for the day was to conduct solo hover practice. After about 20 minutes of hover practice on a grass runway at the non-towered airport, he began hover-taxiing the helicopter back to its hangar. As he approached the hangar area, he realized that the helicopter had excessive speed for an upcoming turn, and the pilot tried to slow the helicopter. However, instead of just decelerating, the helicopter settled to the ground. At the time the helicopter contacted the ground, it had some lateral translation. One of the skids caught on the ground, and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. The pilot shut down the helicopter and extracted himself. The main rotor blades, tailboom, and one skid were substantially damaged, and the pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation and that his inexperience in the helicopter resulted in his inability to control it during the taxi.
Factual narrative
The private pilot with an airplane single-engine land rating was learning to fly his son's experimental amateur-built helicopter, and had accumulated about 20 hours in type. His plan for the day was to conduct solo hover practice. After about 20 minutes of hover practice on a grass runway at the non-towered airport, he began hover-taxiing the helicopter back to its hangar. As he approached the hangar area, he realized that the helicopter had excessive speed for an upcoming turn, and the pilot tried to slow the helicopter down. However, instead of just decelerating, the helicopter settled to the ground. At the time the helicopter contacted the ground, it had some lateral translation. One of the skids caught on the ground, and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. The pilot shut down the helicopter and extracted himself. The main rotors, tail boom, and one skid were substantially damaged, but the pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated that there were no pre-event mechanical problems or abnormalities with the helicopter, and that his inexperience in the helicopter was the reason for the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N156RW
- Reported as
- Rotorway Exec (90)
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1001
- Airframe hours
- 85
- Engine
- Rotorway R1 162, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 12, 2011
- Departed
- 63S · Colville, WA
- Destination
- 63S · Colville, WA
- Airport
- 63S · Colville Municipal
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 23, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 605 total · 21 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 11, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.