Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601
Saturday, February 10, 1990 14:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

AFTER THE HELICOPTER LEVELED OFF FOR CRUISE, THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE BELT FAILED. THE PILOT SAID IT STARTED TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL, BUT THAT HE WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL WITH THE A 1,500 FPM RATE OF DESCENT. HE SAID THAT EACH TIME HE TRIED TO INCREASE THE MAIN ROTOR RPM, THE HELICOPTER WOULD SPIN AGAIN. AS THE HELICOPTER APPROACHED GROUND LEVEL, HE ADDED POWER AND INCREASED THE COLLECTIVE, AND THE HELICOPTER STARTED TO SPIN, SO HE CHOPPED POWER TO SLOW THE SPIN, AND THEN LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE. AT TOUCHDOWN, THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER ON ITS SIDE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

FAILURE OF THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE BELT.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/10/1990
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City LAKE CHARLES
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70601
Event Date Year 1990
Event Date Month 2
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1450 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 47
Weather Observation Facility ID LCH
Elevation of weather observation facility 18
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 117
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
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 None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 384
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 10 1990 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 41319
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 4:46PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N850JR
NTSB Number FTW90DRD02
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 C&J SONTHEIMER
Aircraft Model ROTORWAY
Aircraft Series Identifier ROTORWAY
Aircraft Serial Number 3122
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 May 15 1989 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 47
Airframe Hours 190
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PHILLIP A. GUZZINO
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3832 BURTON LANE
Aircraft Owner City LAKE CHARLES
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 70601
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City IOWA
Departure State LA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1355
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City LAKE CHARLES
Destination State LA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length 0
Runway Width 0
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --