Event ERA20LA037

Factual narrative

On November 2, 2019, about 1310 eastern standard time, an unregistered experimental, amateur-built Mosquito XE285 helicopter, sustained substantial damage while attempting to land at a private residence in Seffner, Florida. The private pilot was seriously injured. The helicopter was owned by the pilot and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed the residence about 1255. The pilot stated he landed too fast and the main rotor blade flexed down and struck the tail. The helicopter then rolled over. The pilot's neighbor stated that the pilot purchased the single-seat helicopter about 6 months before the accident, and he would practice taking off on her property located behind his house. She said that she watched him "land hard and began bouncing around." The helicopter continued to bounce, before it flipped over and crashed. The single-seat helicopter was manufactured in 2019 and had accrued a total of 16 flight hours at the time of the accident. The pilot was not rated in helicopters, but did hold a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 15, 2015. At that time, he reported a total of 200 flight hours. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the helicopter prior to the accident. At 1335, weather at Tampa Executive Airport (VDF), located about 15 miles northwest of the accident site, was reported as calm wind, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 3,500 ft, broken clouds at 4,500 ft, overcast clouds at 6,000 ft, temperature 27°C, dew point 22° C, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.01 inches of mercury. The pilot, who did not hold a helicopter rating, stated that when he was trying to land his single-seat, unregistered experimental helicopter, he landed too fast and the main rotor blade flexed and struck the tail before the helicopter rolled over. The pilot's neighbor stated that the pilot purchased the helicopter about 6 months before the accident, and he would practice taking off from her property, located behind his house. She said that the helicopter landed hard and began "bouncing around" before it flipped over and crashed. The pilot reported that the helicopter had accrued 16 hours at the time of the accident and that there were no mechanical deficiencies that contributed to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• F Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Qualification/certification-Pilot - F
• F Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Training-Total instruct/training recvd-Pilot - F
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained