Duff MINI-500 N13118

Summary

On 17 April 1997 at about 00:24 local time, a Duff MINI-500 registered N13118 was involved in an accident near Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 April 1997 at 00:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Lihue (LIH)

Coordinates

22.1401, -159.3105

Aircraft

Duff MINI-500

Registration

N13118

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anahola → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA150

1 person died.

the student pilot's improper use of the helicopter flight controls, which resulted in rotor contact with the tail boom and loss of control. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's lack of total and recent training and experience in airborne control of helicopters.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness stated that the helicopter appeared to be about 500 feet agl and that he could hear a 'tick-tick-tick' sound as the aircraft started yawing to the left and right. The yawing motion was followed by a left roll to an inverted attitude from which the aircraft descended nose down to the ground and crashed. At the time that the roll began, the tail rotor and gearbox were observed to separate from the tail boom. Examination of the helicopter did not disclose any pre-accident engine, fuel system, or flight control system malfunctions or abnormalities. Black paint, the color of the tail boom, was evident on the leading edge of both main rotor blades, and four impact dents were found on the tail boom. Paint transfer indicated that the upper right-hand windshield had also been impacted by the main rotor blades. Review of the student pilot's flight records disclosed that he had obtained 12 hours of helicopter dual instruction in 1991, with only 1 hour listed for autorotations. No record of additional dual instruction was found between 1991 and the date of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.