Fields BABY BELLE N656VK
31 May 1998 · Inyokern, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 31 May 1998 at about 18:45 local time, a Fields BABY BELLE registered N656VK was involved in an accident near Inyokern, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:45
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Inyokern, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.8799, -118.1507
- Aircraft
- Fields BABY BELLE
- Registration
- N656VK
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX98LA178
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The failure of the pilot to recover from a low rotor rpm condition, which resulted in a loss of aircraft control.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot took off and approximately 40 mph and 60 feet agl, he felt an increasing vibration which he attempted to reduce by raising the collective. He decided to land and as he applied aft cyclic and reduced the collective, the aircraft began yawing to the left and he ran out of right pedal. The aircraft nosed over in an uncontrolled descent and impacted the ground at approximately a 45-degree nose-down attitude and 20-30 degree left roll. The pilot reported that he built the kit helicopter, which has a total time of 67 hours. The kit does not include a low rotor rpm warning system. The pilot holds a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating and has a helicopter solo endorsement dated August 22, 1997.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1998 | Cessna 152 | Avalon, California, United States | Orange County Flight Center | Fatal | 1 |
| 5 Oct 1998 | Grumman TS-2A | Banning, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Aug 1998 | North American NAVION | Salinas, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 21 Aug 1998 | Bell 206B | Salinas, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 1998 | Robinson R22B | Ramona, California, United States | Civic Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 27 Aug 1998 | Aerospatiale SA316B | Porterville, California, United States | U.s. Dept. of the Interior | No injuries | - |