Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Argyle Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Argyle, New York 12809
Monday, May 21, 2007 18:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The certified flight instructor (CFI) stated that the purpose of the flight was instruction. He conducted a preflight of the helicopter and did not note any problems with the helicopter. Start up and run up was completed by the checklist with no problems. They lifted off, hovered for a few minutes and landed again. Shortly thereafter they departed an airport for training. The takeoff and climb were normal, and they leveled off at 1,500 feet. Approximately 3 miles from the airport, the engine began to run rough and there was a drop in power. The dual student transferred the flight controls to the CFI. The CFI decided not to continue the flight to the airport, and initiated an approach to a field behind a house. On approach the engine stopped, and an autorotation was initiated to the field. The touchdown was "smooth" and level, with a slow forward speed. The helicopter slid approximately 10 feet and rolled over onto the left side. Examination of the helicopter by an FAA inspector revealed no flight control anomalies. The pilot reported that the helicopter was fine until the engine power began decrease. The examination of the engine revealed that the number 4 rocker arm was unsecured and the spring retainer was damaged. Further examination revealed that the number 4 exhaust valve had stuck in the open position. In a review of the logbook it was discovered that the mechanic had made valve lash adjustments to all the cylinders on September 16, 2006, at an engine tachometer time of 17.4 hours. The engine tachometer time at the accident site was 18.1 hours. The engine had .7 hours before the exhaust valve failed. The cylinder heads were sent to Rotorway International for examination of the exhaust and intake valves. According to Rotorway, examination of the heads revealed that the exhaust valves were found to be "sticky in their guides". The guide size measured at the low side of the tolerance before cleaning. After cleaning with a wire brush, the fit of the valves in the cylinder heads and the tolerance of sizes were acceptable.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to the sticking of the exhaust valves that resulted from carbon buildup.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/21/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1800 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Argyle |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 12809 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 431509N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0732809W |
| Event Location Airport | ARGYLE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NY02 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 330 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1715 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 280 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KGFL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 328 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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) | 22202 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Eastern Region Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 23 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 31 2007 7:09AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Albany FSDO-01 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N636PB |
| NTSB Number | ATL07CA084 |
| 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 | Rotorway INTL 162F |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 6636 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0.6 |
| Airframe Hours | 17 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Paul Breton |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 46 Breton Lane |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fort Edward |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 12828 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Paul Breton |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 46 Breton Lane |
| Operator City | Fort Edward |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 12828 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Private strip |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1745 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | NY02 |
| Destination City | ARGYLE |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 25 2008 10:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\HAMG |
| 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 | -- |