Randall Amanda ROTORWAY N103DE

Summary

On 9 November 2008 at about 18:30 local time, a Randall Amanda ROTORWAY registered N103DE, operated by Randall Amanda, was involved in an accident near Middletown, Delaware, 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

9 November 2008 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Middletown, Delaware, United States

Nearest airport

Summit Airport (EVY)

Coordinates

39.5211, -75.7208

Aircraft

Randall Amanda ROTORWAY

Registration

N103DE

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Randall Amanda

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Middletown → Middletown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA045

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s excessive use of cyclic during the engine run-up. Contributing to the accident were the student pilot’s lack of overall experience and the gusting wind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 12-hour student pilot was flying the helicopter following repair to the chain drive oil system. The throttle was advanced to 100 percent power while the helicopter was resting on the ground. The helicopter was aligned into the wind. The pilot moved the cyclic to the far right stop during run-up. The helicopter tipped to the right, the wind "caught the aircraft," and the main rotors came in contact with the ground. The helicopter then rolled over, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that the winds were from the south at 15 knots with gusts to 20 knots. The recorded wind, at an airport located approximately 10 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was from 280 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 19 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.