As a helicopter
flight instructor who also instructs in a number of home-built Rotorway
helicopters I was curious to discover why there seems to be such
a disproportionate number of Rotorway helicopter accidents as compared
to the certified R22 and Schweizer 269/300 series light training
helicopters. A visit to the NTSB accident synopsis web site was
eye opening indeed when the actual causes of these accidents are
grouped and studied.
The Rotorway helicopters are unique in that they are truly real
helicopters that you can build, maintain, and fly yourself. They
can also bite you in a big way if you do not obtain adequate training
and perform the proper inspections and maintenance. It appears from
the statistics that most accidents that have occurred were preventable
by either better pilot training or thorough inspection/maintenance.
Over the years I have witnessed some very good Rotorway pilots and
also those who treat their helicopters like toys, ignoring the inherent
danger of foolish actions on the part of the pilot.
If you look at the NTSB accident reports for the past 5 years you
can gain a better understanding of the true reliability of the Rotorway
helicopters. Here is a break down of what went wrong:
Mechanical failure-
Two secondary shaft failures at factory with no injuries
One engine mount failure with no injuries
One engine failure at the factory with no injuries
One ignition failure with no injuries
So, according to the reports, there were 5 accidents resulting from
mechanical failure with no injuries to the pilots or passengers.
Rotorway has redesigned the secondary shafts to a 35mm size and
they strongly recommend that all existing 30mm shafts be replaced
with the larger diameter ones. Note also that of the 5 reported
mechanical failures in 5 years, three of them occurred at the factory
in their own helicopters. That means that in the entire fleet of
customer-flown Rotorway helicopters there were only two reported
accidents resulting from mechanical failure that could not have
been prevented by proper maintenance or preflight inspections and
neither of those produced any injuries to the occupants of the helicopters.
Below I have grouped the NTSB accident reports with respect to their
reported causes. This information is presented as an observation
and I am not placing blame on any individuals for their actions
or lack there of. It is my hope that we can all learn from the mistakes
that others have made and in so doing become safer pilots with more
confidence in our well-maintained and properly inspected helicopters.
These are not all of the incidents that we have heard of, obviously
some go unreported to the NTSB, but are the ones that have been
reported and documented. They give us a window through which to
view the most common reasons why Rotorways seem to crash.
Maintenance and pre-flight failures-
Lower secondary bearing loose, tail drive belt comes off (should
have been caught on preflight inspection) no injuries
Improper installation of ignition lead (should have been caught
when replaced and tested) no injuries
Collective push tube rod end lock nuts not tightened ( should have
been caught on pre-flight) minor injuries
Valves not adjusted ( should have been during regular maintenance)
serious injuries
Transport wheels not removed ( Preflight item) no injuries
Oil line leaking- fire- ( maintenance and preflight) no injuries
Loose oil line- fire ( maintenance and preflight) no injuries
Tail rotor belt frayed and slipping- post crash inspection revealed
that all inspection panels were painted over and never removed for
inspection ( maintenance and preflight) Fatal injuries
Main belts slipping due to coolant leak ( maintenance and preflight)
no injuries
Improper ballast position- flew into trees- ( maintenance and preflight)
no injuries
Pilot Error- Rotor RPM
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)no injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)no injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)serious injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)no injuries
Low Rotor rpm- mast bumping (improper pilot technique-training)fatal
injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)no injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)minor injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)minor injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-training)no injuries
Low Rotor rpm- (improper pilot technique-Un-rated pilot-training)no
injuries
Dynamic rollover-(student pilot releasing controls) no injuries
Dynamic rollover-(student pilot forgot to un-tether helicopter on
lift-off) no injuries
Fuel exhaustion-(improper monitoring of flight time-training) serious
injuries
That is 10 reported accidents that were due to pilot error in allowing
the main rotor rpm to decay causing a crash- this should be a wake-up
call to get the proper training and to develop proper instrument
scanning techniques
.
Pilot Error - Hovering downwind
Wind gust from rear (pilot technique and training) minor injuries
Wind gust from rear (pilot technique and training) minor injuries
Wind gust from rear (pilot technique and training) no injuries
Wind gust from rear (pilot technique and training) minor injuries
Wind gust from rear (pilot technique and training) minor injuries
Here again proper training would have prevented most if not all
of these accidents
Pilot Error- Other
Carb ice- carb heat was on- (not monitoring carb heat gauge-training)no
injuries
Carb ice- carb heat was on- (not monitoring carb heat gauge-training)no
injuries
Dynamic rollover- skid contact with ground ( improper hover ht.-
training) minor injuries
Dynamic rollover- skid contact with ground ( improper hover ht.-
training) no injuries
Tail strike- (improper flair ht.-training) minor injuries
Tail strike- (improper flair ht.-training) no injuries
One possibly attempted suicide ( no mechanical failures) minor injuries
As you can see, there were only two reported accidents
from mechanical failure in five years that did not occur at the
factory and all the rest could have been prevented by the pilot/repairman.
There have been many more mechanical failures that have occurred
in the fleet of Rotorway helicopters but the vast majority of those
failures have been discovered during regular inspections and maintenance.
Other mechanical failures have caused emergency descents but with
proper pilot technique the helicopter and the passengers lived to
fly another day. Most mechanical failures that have occurred in
the Rotorway fleet have been published, discussed, and addressed
in detail in Rotorheads and various other forums. Preventive measures
have been proposed to prevent similar failures from happening again.
As we network together, between ourselves and RWI, we will continually
improve the reliability of our helicopters.
Get the proper training and do your pre and post
flight inspections, your pre-boarding walk around inspection, and
all of the scheduled maintenance. This done you will have a very
reliable and enjoyable experience with your Rotorway helicopter.
Fly safe.
Orv Neisingh
R/H CFI
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