Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Paso Robles, California 93446
Friday, February 22, 2002 13:35 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Seconds after taking off from an open field, the helicopter's tail rotor contacted power lines that the pilot had not seen. The pilot lost control of the helicopter and it impacted the ground, then rolled over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate visual lookout and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/22/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1335
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Paso Robles
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93446
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 353836N
Event Location Longitude 1203259W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID PRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 836
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15544
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 22 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Jose, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N500JY
NTSB Number LAX02LA090
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Young
Aircraft Model Mini-500
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 411
Certified Max Gross Weight 500
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Feb 10 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 42
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Glenn P. Young
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Paso Robles
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93446
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Paso Robles
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1335
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PRB
Destination City Paso Robles
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 16 2004 1:18PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --