Rotorway EXEC C-GBZD

Summary

On 8 December 2025 at about 18:30 local time, a Rotorway EXEC registered C-GBZD was involved in an accident near Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 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

8 December 2025 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Chemehuevi Valley (49x)

Coordinates

34.5289, -114.4320

Aircraft

Rotorway EXEC

Registration

C-GBZD

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Havasu City → Lake Havasu City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR26LA056

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper securing hardware installation, which resulted in a loss of throttle control and a loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/owner of an amateur-built helicopter reported that, while transitioning through translational lift for landing at about 30 ft above ground level with near-zero forward airspeed, the engine experienced a loss of power. The pilot/owner attempted to perform an autorotative landing by increasing collective and applying left pedal, and the helicopter subsequently experienced a hard landing, bounced, and came to rest on the edge of the runway at an 45° angle. The helicopter then rocked backward, resulting in substantial damage to the tailboom and tail rotor blades. The pilot’s post-accident examination of the engine revealed that it started normally during a test run; however, the engine would not accelerate above idle power. Further examination determined that the throttle cable was disconnected due to a missing retaining nut. The pilot reported that he had installed a nyloc self-locking nut, but the bolt threads did not extend sufficiently into the nut to engage the nylon insert and secure the nut. As a result, the nut separated in flight, which allowed the throttle to move to the idle position and resulted in a loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.