Accident RotorWay Exec 90 N6032C,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 19540
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Saturday 17 May 2008
Time:12:45
Type:Silhouette image of generic EXEC model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
RotorWay Exec 90
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N6032C
MSN: VXH01
Total airframe hrs:750 hours
Engine model:Rotorway RI 162
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:in a field west of Erie Tri-County Airport, Erie, CO -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Erie, CO (48V)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The private pilot stated during a telephonic interview that he was hovering in an open field adjacent to the airport, when he began to lose rotor RPM. He landed briefly to investigate why the helicopter was not flying properly. He then decided to hover taxi back to his hangar and was trying to keep the nose of the helicopter pointed into the wind. While hovering with a slight right crab over a freshly plowed field the helicopter settled, the right skid contacted the soft terrain, and rolled onto the right side. The pilot stated that the loss of rotor RPM was the result of the loose engine oil cap that sprayed engine oil on the main rotor system drive belts. The helicopter main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, fuselage, and tail boom were substantially damaged. There was no post-crash fire and the pilot reported no injuries. Weather was reported at the time as winds from 020 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 30 miles with few clouds at 7,000 feet and a temperature of 72 degrees.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper in-flight decision to continue flight after experiencing a loss of rotor RPM. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's low level of experience in helicopters and the leaking oil from the engine oil filler cap.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: DFW08CA147
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 month
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
18-May-2008 09:55 Fusko Added
18-May-2008 09:58 harro Updated
21-Dec-2016 19:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:16 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
21-Dec-2016 19:20 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
03-Dec-2017 10:48 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org