Pilot Debrief

INNOVATOR Mosquitto near North Manchester, IN — 2020-02-23

Final reportCEN20FA098
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Date
2020-02-23
Location
North Manchester, IN, USA
Aircraft
INNOVATOR Mosquitto
Registration
N840GS
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Hover

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying his single-seat, experimental amateur-built helicopter over his private grass runway. There were no witnesses to the accident. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies, and damage to the main and tail rotor blades and drive systems, as well as recorded data, were consistent with the engine producing power at the time of impact. No autopsy or toxicological testing were performed on the pilot due to medical care received following the accident. Family members stated that the pilot would often practice hovering and taxiing over the runway. The pilot had reported to family members that he had experienced a couple of hard landings during previous flights and that he would often revert to his fixed-wing habits and push the cyclic forward when he encountered trouble flying the helicopter. Although he had received about 12 hours of flight instruction in a helicopter of a different make/model and had logged about 10 hours of solo flight experience in the accident helicopter, the pilot had not received an endorsement for solo flight in a helicopter. Examination of the helicopter wreckage found no preimpact anomalies to explain why the helicopter impacted terrain and no determination could be made whether the pilot experienced a medical event. The extent to which the pilot’s lack of training and experience in helicopters may have contributed to the accident could not be determined. The accident is consistent with the pilot’s loss of control of the helicopter for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have sought more training before solo flights in the helicopter.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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