Pilot Debrief

Dowell Vaughn Exec 90 near Lafayette, CO — 2008-05-17

Final reportDFW08CA147
Sign in to save
Date
2008-05-17
Location
Lafayette, CO, USA
Airport
KEIK
Aircraft
Dowell Vaughn Exec 90
Registration
N6032C
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot's improper in-flight decision to continue flight after experiencing a loss of rotor RPM. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's low level of experience in helicopters and the leaking oil from the engine oil filler cap.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated during a telephonic interview that he was hovering in an open field adjacent to the airport, when he began to lose rotor RPM. He landed briefly to investigate why the helicopter was not flying properly. He then decided to hover taxi back to his hangar and was trying to keep the nose of the helicopter pointed into the wind. While hovering with a slight right crab over a freshly plowed field the helicopter settled, the right skid contacted the soft terrain, and rolled onto the right side. The pilot stated that the loss of rotor RPM was the result of the loose engine oil cap that sprayed engine oil on the main rotor system drive belts. The helicopter main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, fuselage, and tail boom were substantially damaged. There was no post-crash fire and the pilot reported no injuries. Weather was reported at the time as winds from 020 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 30 miles with few clouds at 7,000 feet and a temperature of 72 degrees.

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

Related mishaps