N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gallatin, Tennessee 37066
Sunday, September 28, 2014 15:20 CDT

On September 28, 2014, about 1520 central daylight time, an experimental amateur built Eagle R & D Helicycle helicopter; N7062U, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain after a loss of control while maneuvering in Gallatin, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, destined for Sumner County Regional Airport (M33), Gallatin, Tennessee. According to a friend of the pilot, the pilot had departed M33 earlier in the day and had flown out to his property to visit with him. The landing was uneventful, and while the pilot was there he borrowed some tools from the property owner and increased the tension on the drive belts. Later on he started the helicopter and took off and departed to the southwest. The property owner assumed at this point that the pilot was heading back to M33 but, a little while later he observed the helicopter coming toward him in a nose low attitude, at approximately 400 feet above ground level, and at a "high rate of speed." The helicopter then suddenly pitched over, began to tumble, and then impacted in an inverted attitude, and a postcrash fire ensued. Examination of the accident site and wreckage revealed that during the impact sequence the helicopter first made ground contact with the forward portion of the cockpit. It then tumbled along the ground on an approximate magnetic heading of 030 degrees for approximately 90 feet before coming to rest on its left side. Examination of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation of the engine. Examination of the helicopter's structure and flight control system also did not reveal evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions which would have precluded normal operation of the flight control system. During the examination however, a piece of angle iron was discovered in the debris field along with numerous broken cable ties. According to the property owner, he observed that the piece of angle iron was attached to the helicopter when the pilot landed and took off from his property and advised that the pilot had attached it to the helicopter's tail boom for weight and balance purposes. Preliminary review of weight and balance data supplied by the kit manufacturer indicated that the center of gravity of the helicopter was dependent on the pilot's weight, installed position of the battery, and position and weight of any ballast installed. Preliminary calculations based on the supplied weight and balance data, weight of the pilot, and weight and position of where the angle iron was observed to have been mounted on the helicopter's tailboom, indicated that the helicopter's center of gravity was outside of the manufacturer's approved envelope. The pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He did not possess a rotorcraft helicopter rating or an endorsement for solo flight in a helicopter. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on August 19, 2014. He reported on that date, that he had accrued approximately 1,200 total flight hours. According to FAA records, the helicopter was issued a special airworthiness certificate on October 6, 2008. According to aircraft maintenance records, the helicopter's most recent conditional inspection was completed on May 5, 2011. At the time of accident, the helicopter had accrued approximately 51 total hours of operation.

Not Yet Reported