Rotorway EXEC N156RW

Summary

On 5 August 2012 at about 22:45 local time, a Rotorway EXEC registered N156RW was involved in an accident near Colville, Washington, 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

5 August 2012 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Colville, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Colville Municipal (63S)

Coordinates

48.5439, -117.8839

Aircraft

Rotorway EXEC

Registration

N156RW

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Colville → Colville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA344

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's lack of experience in the helicopter, which resulted in his failure to maintain ground clearance during the taxi hover, followed by inadvertent ground contact and rollover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot with an airplane single-engine land rating was learning to fly his son's experimental amateur-built helicopter and had accumulated about 20 hours in type. His plan for the day was to conduct solo hover practice. After about 20 minutes of hover practice on a grass runway at the non-towered airport, he began hover-taxiing the helicopter back to its hangar. As he approached the hangar area, he realized that the helicopter had excessive speed for an upcoming turn, and the pilot tried to slow the helicopter. However, instead of just decelerating, the helicopter settled to the ground. At the time the helicopter contacted the ground, it had some lateral translation. One of the skids caught on the ground, and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. The pilot shut down the helicopter and extracted himself. The main rotor blades, tailboom, and one skid were substantially damaged, and the pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation and that his inexperience in the helicopter resulted in his inability to control it during the taxi.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.