Cartersville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cartersville, Georgia 30120
Sunday, March 9, 2008 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The owner/builder of the Rotorway 162F was performing pedal turns while conducting initial flight tests. During a turn the left pedal "popped" and "fell away." He immediately dropped the collective and landed hard, causing significant damage to the tail boom. He inspected the helicopter and discovered the foot pedal scissor beam had pulled away from its retaining bolt. The scissor beam was designed to be sandwiched between two nylon pivot bushings, and retained by an aluminum bushing and bolt. During the construction phase he inadvertently mounted the aluminum bushing on the inside of the scissor beam, allowing the beam to be pulled past the mounting bolt when pressure was applied.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The owner/builder's improper installation of the foot pedal scissor beam, which resulted in its failure during hover flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/9/2008
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Cartersville
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30120
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 340723N
Event Location Longitude 0845055W
Event Location Airport Cartersville
Event Location Nearest Airport ID VPC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 759
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID VPC
Elevation of weather observation facility 759
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.36
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23470
NTSB Notification Source Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N831MS
NTSB Number NYC08CA132
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Rotorway
Aircraft Model 162F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6887
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 1
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert M. Seymour
Aircraft Owner Street Address 358 Carl Creek Trail
Aircraft Owner City Kennesaw
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30152
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 VPC
Departure City Cartersville
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 14 2008 2:19PM
User who most recently changed record grer
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 --