Camano-Stanwood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stanwood, Washington 98292
Tuesady, September 11, 2007 11:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While en route to his planned destination, the pilot noticed that one of two latches on the right side cabin door had come loose. He therefore elected to land in a grassy area alongside the runway of a nearby airstrip. While turning from base to final, the cyclic was momentarily restricted by being caught on the shorts of the passenger. Although the movement of the cyclic was only momentarily restricted, it resulted in the pilot delaying his transition to a slower airspeed and a reduced rate of descent prior to establishing a pre-landing hover. Instead of executing a go-around, the pilot decided to continue his transition, but he was unable to enter a hover prior to touching down with a slight forward movement on the rough uneven terrain. When the helicopter touched down, the left skid became stuck in a rut, and that, along with a slight tailwind and the residual forward movement of the helicopter, resulted in a dynamic rollover. In his written statement, the pilot said, "Making a go-around would have been the best way to prevent this accident."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to execute a go-around and his failure to reduce his groundspeed to zero prior to touching down on the rough/uneven terrain. Factors include the momentary restriction of a flight control, rough/uneven terrain, and a tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/11/2007
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Stanwood
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98292
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 481515N
Event Location Longitude 1222607W
Event Location Airport Camano-Stanwood
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 13W
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
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 Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22550
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 29 2007 8:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6014U
NTSB Number SEA07CA256
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Rogerson Hiller Corp.
Aircraft Model RH-1100
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 504
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robinson Properties and Investments, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David A. Robinson
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Marysville
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KBVS
Departure City Burliington
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KPAE
Destination City Everett
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 12 2007 10:05PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --