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SEA08CA055

2007-12-22 · Santa Maria, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SMX

Current FAA registration · N66012

Make / Model
ROTORWAY INTL EXEC 162F
Year of manufacture
2007 · 0 years old at event
Engine
ROTORWAY RI 162F (150 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20071215
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A8B6CF

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during hover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in rotorcraft.

Factual narrative

The pilot was hovering his amateur built experimental helicopter for the first time. Upon liftoff, the helicopter began drifting to the left, and the pilot lowered the collective without controlling the drift to the left. The left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and rolled over coming to rest on its left side. The pilot had a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. He was not rated in helicopters and his total time in rotorcraft was 12 hours, all of which were dual instruction in the accident make and model of helicopter. The pilot was hovering his amateur built experimental helicopter for the first time. Upon liftoff, the helicopter began drifting to the left, and the pilot lowered the collective without controlling the drift to the left. The left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and rolled over coming to rest on its left side. The pilot had a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. He was not rated in helicopters and his total time in rotorcraft was 12 hours, all of which were dual instruction in the accident make and model of helicopter. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2007_SEA08CA055.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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