Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pacoima, California 91333
Friday, June 25, 1999 15:43 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The experimental helicopter experienced a loss of engine power in the takeoff initial climb, about 450 feet agl, and the pilot autorotated to a hard landing on a city street. A witness who saw the helicopter hovering before takeoff said that the engine 'missed' twice before the helicopter took off. After the helicopter took off and was about 80 to 90 feet agl, he heard the engine make a 'sputtering' or 'popping' noise. This flight was the first test flight after building the helicopter and the pilot had completed 4.3 hours of engine run-ups and hover time. Examination of the engine found that the No. 3 cylinder intake valve stem cap was damaged and the rocker arm was loose. The valve lash clearances on the other three cylinders were found to be from 0.006 to 0.022 inches greater than the manufacturer's specifications. No other damage was noted to the engine or valve train. The No. 3 cylinder intake valve stem cap was replaced and the other valve clearances set to the proper 0.004-inch specification. The engine was then installed in a test cell and performed normally during all operational tests. The RotorWay Engine Manual instructs owners to measure and adjust the valve lash, and states, 'if any adjustment is necessary at one hour, valve adjustment should be repeated hourly until the lash stabilizes.' The pilot reported that he had made a total of four adjustments during the first inspection, but after that, all measurements had been within the manufacturer's specifications.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper valve adjustments and failure to follow the manufacturer's instructions, which resulted in a loose number 3 cylinder rocker arm and a loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/25/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1543 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | PACOIMA |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91333 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BUR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 775 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1694 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 25 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1630 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 14 2001 2:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N112WM |
| NTSB Number | LAX99LA236 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Miller |
| Aircraft Model | ROTORWAY EXEC 162F |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | ROTORWAY E |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 6369 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 3 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 4 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WAYNE MILLER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2160 CENTURY PARK E. APT. 703N |
| Aircraft Owner City | LOS ANGELES |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90067 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | WHP |
| Departure City | WHITEMAN |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1540 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 14 2001 10:25AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |