Rotorway 162F CFYAR

Summary

On 16 July 2007 at about 23:11 local time, a Rotorway 162F registered CFYAR was involved in an accident near Heart, North Dakota, 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

16 July 2007 at 23:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Heart, North Dakota, United States

Coordinates

46.8197, -103.1008

Aircraft

Rotorway 162F

Registration

CFYAR

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beach → Dickenson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA215

Nobody was injured.

The pilot inadvertently shut off the fuel pump switch which resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent loss of engine power. An additional cause was the pilot's poorly executed autorotation/flare which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was involved in a hard landing during an autorotation following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that during the flight, while drinking from a water bottle, the bottle contacted the overhead electric fuel pump switch. The switch was knocked to the off position, resulting in the loss of engine power. The pilot stated that he entered an autorotation. He said he realized that he had contacted the switch, but by that time he was already committed to land. The pilot reported, "...the auto was poorly executed at the bottom end, resulting in a hard landing." He reported that during the landing, the rear landing gear collapsed and the main rotor blades struck the tailboom.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.