ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 209827
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| Date: | Tuesday 24 April 2018 |
| Time: | 14:00 LT |
| Type: |  Mosquito Aviation XE |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N911CY |
| MSN: | MXE1036F07 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2010 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 89 hours |
| Engine model: | Innovator Technologies Inntec 800 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Town of Gaines, Orleans County, NY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Albion, NY (NY06) |
| Albion, NY (NY06) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The day before the accident, the pilot conducted flight tests in the experimental, amateur-built helicopter with the newly-installed engine autotuner in order to determine the proper air-to-fuel ratio (AFR); however, the pilot inadvertently failed to complete the autotuner setup, and the autotuner reverted back to a lean air-fuel ratio setting. The next day, while departing on a local flight about 75 ft above ground level (agl), the engine started to backfire and the engine power began to surge. The pilot decided to land straight ahead, but the main rotor rpm was low, which precluded entering an autorotation, and the engine subsequently lost total power about 50 ft agl. The helicopter entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted the ground; a postcrash fire ensued.
Postaccident examination of the thermally-damaged engine revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the powertrain or lubrication system. Although the autotuner was destroyed in the postcrash fire, the in-flight separation of one air induction filter, the coloration of the spark plugs, and the backfiring engine were consistent with the engine operating in an excessively lean air-fuel condition.
The partial, then total, loss of engine power was likely due to the engine computer (ECU) detecting the backfiring and putting the engine into a self-preserving partial, then idle, power mode. It is likely that the pilot's failure to maintain rotor rpm following the loss of engine power resulted in the uncontrolled descent and hard landing.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadvertent, improper configuration of the engine fuel system, which resulted in an excessively lean air-to-fuel ratio and resulted in a loss of engine power; and the pilot's subsequent failure to maintain main rotor rpm following the loss of engine power, which resulted in a hard landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA18LA135
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=911CY
Location
Media:
Helicopter crashes in the Town of Gaines Orleans County, NY. Pilot was injured.https://t.co/Cfv2xKojC4 via @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/UTXIM9DS40
— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 24 avril 2018
A nearby resident in the Town of Gaines gave me these photos from the helicopter accident. This is what was left...the other parts of the helicopter burned. pic.twitter.com/BmhrSHeukb
— Mike Baggerman (@MikeBaggerman) 24 avril 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Apr-2018 23:02 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 24-Apr-2018 23:15 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 25-Apr-2018 03:30 | Geno | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 25-Apr-2018 15:57 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Jul-2022 10:44 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Cn, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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