DEN08LA038

Factual narrative

On November 13, 2007, at 0912 central standard time, a Rotorway Exec 162-F, N46110, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an off-airport landing while on approach to New Century Aircenter (IXD), New Century, Kansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The local flight had just originated. According to the pilot's accident report, he was doing hovering maneuvers at the end of runway 22, He was cleared for a left pattern to return to the end of the runway. On final approach he felt a "moderate vibration" in the tail rotor, and elected to autorotate to a farm field adjacent to airport property rather than try to clear surrounding trees and fences. The helicopter landed hard, flexing the landing gear. On January 25, 2008, the pilot was interviewed via telephone. He said a spar in the tail rotor blade had failed due to metal fatigue. The pilot was doing hovering maneuvers at the end of the runway. He was cleared for a left pattern to return to the end of the runway. On final approach he felt a "moderate vibration" in the tail rotor, and elected to autorotate to a farm field adjacent to airport property rather than try to clear surrounding trees and fences. The helicopter landed hard, flexing the landing gear. The pilot later reported a spar in one of the tail rotor blades had failed due to metal fatigue. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12