Jones MINI 500 N8015E

Summary

On 27 November 1997 at about 19:30 local time, a Jones MINI 500 registered N8015E was involved in an accident near Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 November 1997 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bluefield, West Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Bluefield/Mercer County (BLF)

Coordinates

37.2600, -81.2103

Aircraft

Jones MINI 500

Registration

N8015E

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD98LA014

1 person had minor injuries.

Pilot's unfamiliarity with reciprocating engine powered helicopter lead to a reduction in main rotor rpm and subsequent uncontrolled rate of descent with insufficient altitude to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On a local flight to 'balance and adjust the flight controls,' the pilot took off down wind and climbed to 50 feet agl. He stated that 'after passing through transitional lift, the rotor began to over speed, so I reduced the throttle.' As he approached the end of the runway, the pilot 'slowed the helicopter down and started a left turn to fly down the runway to check the head balance.' As the pilot started the turn, he stated that 'I increased the throttle to the maximum, however, the rotor rpm had begun to deteriorate and the throttle would not bring it back up.' With insufficient altitude to recover, the helicopter impacted the ground collapsing the left skid, and rolled onto its side damaging the main rotor, tail boom, tail rotor, and the cockpit. The pilot stated that he had thousands of hours in turbine engine powered helicopters, but, was not familiar with reciprocating engine powered helicopters. The pilot had accumulated less than 10 hours in this helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.