Rotorway 162F N92AL

Summary

On 27 March 2003 at about 23:00 local time, a Rotorway 162F registered N92AL was involved in an accident near Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 March 2003 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

36.0967, -79.9336

Aircraft

Rotorway 162F

Registration

N92AL

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greensboro → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03LA072

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning of fuel required for flight which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and a complete loss of engine power followed by a forced landing, and a dynamic rollover during the autorotative touchdown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he flew around the airstrip for approximately 45 minutes. After several passes over the airstrip, the pilot reported he received an electronic control unit (ECU) failure indication light. When the engine lost power, the pilot entered an autorotation. During the touchdown phase of the autorotation, the helicopter rolled over on the left side. During the examination of the helicopter no fuel was found in the fuel tanks or at the accident site. The ECU's were sent to be bench tested. The test revealed, the last 30 seconds of the flight indicated an increase in the throttle position with a corresponding decrease of engine RPM, with a rapid cycling during the final 12 seconds prior to the engine completely shutting down. The data retrieved from the ECUs revealed the flight prior to the accident lasted 10 minutes with a three-minute ground run. The accident flight was approximately 57 minutes. The pilot stated that the helicopter fuel tank capacity is 14 gallons, and can fly for 2 hours or 180 miles with full fuel. According to the pilot, the helicopter departed with 14 gallons of automotive fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.