Brantly B2B N2261U

Summary

On 2 June 1996 at about 01:00 local time, a Brantly B2B registered N2261U, operated by Rick Dobbelaere, was involved in an accident near Oakwood, Ohio, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 June 1996 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Oakwood, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

41.0902, -84.3706

Aircraft

Brantly B2B

Registration

N2261U

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Rick Dobbelaere

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

IAD96LA088

1 person was seriously injured.

a loss of engine power due to inadequate maintenance and inspection by the owner/operator which failed to detect the clogged fuel vent line, and the pilot's improper autorotation. A related factor was the pilot's inadequate training/familiarization with helicopter emergency procedures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while he maneuvered during the approach to land, the helicopter experienced a total loss of engine power. When the power loss occurred, he '...nosed down and put the collective down...' to enter autorotation. He '...picked a spot [for landing] ... looked at the rotor RPM (RRPM), it was 320... [and] at 60 to 80 feet I pulled collective...' to begin deceleration. The helicopter struck the ground with a forward speed of 30 MPH with the tail skid striking the ground prior to the main gear. According to the pilot, the normal operating range for RRPM is 400-472 and that 400 RRPM was minimum for autorotation. The pilot did not possess a helicopter rating, but had received 5 to 6 hours of instruction in helicopters. He reported that he had flown 28 hours within the preceding six months, including 3 hours in the accident aircraft. Postaccident examination revealed that the fuel tank vent tube assembly was clogged with '...insect and nest remains... .' The most recent documented 100-hour maintenance inspection of the helicopter occurred on 5/18/70.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.