Massey Ranch Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Smyrna Beac, Florida 32169
Friday, October 1, 2004 14:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that the first 20 minutes of the flight had been uneventful, however, as he turned to return to the departure airport, he noticed a power loss, and that the rotor rpm was at the "low green" portion of the operating range. He said he lowered collective and increased throttle input, but the rpm continued to drop to the "mid- yellow" range. He initiated an autorotation from about 400 feet AGL, and landed the helicopter in the water. Examination of the helicopter and its systems did not reveal any preaccident anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to undetermined reasons, which resulted in the pilot entering autorotation and affecting a forced landing to the water.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/1/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1440
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City New Smyrna Beac
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32169
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 285844N
Event Location Longitude 0805530W
Event Location Airport Massey Ranch Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X50
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 12
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID DAB
Elevation of weather observation facility 34
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18326
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date Oct 1 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1510
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 13 2005 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando, Florida

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7059F
NTSB Number MIA05LA001
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 Rotorway
Aircraft Model 162F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6725
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Jun 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7.9
Airframe Hours 86.2
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bernd Gogolla
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3285 Spruce Creek Glen
Aircraft Owner City Port Orange
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32128
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 No
Departure Airport Code 7FL6
Departure City Daytona beach
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 7FL6
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 14 2005 9:57AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
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 --