Revolution MINI-500 N7234Y
26 October 1997 · Long Beach, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 26 October 1997 at about 20:33 local time, a Revolution MINI-500 registered N7234Y was involved in an accident near Long Beach, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 20:33
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Long Beach, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Daugherty Field (LGB)
- Coordinates
- 33.8008, -118.3506
- Aircraft
- Revolution MINI-500
- Registration
- N7234Y
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX98LA021
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
loss of engine power and low rotor rpm for undeterminted reasons. The factory representative's recommendation to reduce the main rotor low pitch stop (from -1.8 degree to -0.5 degree) may have been a related factor.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
After taking off, the helicopter had climbed about 250 to 300 feet, when the engine abruptly lost power. The pilot attempted an autorotation, but said he was able to maintain only 80 percent rotor rpm, which was insufficient to prevent a hard landing. The pilot reported that the main rotor low pitch stop had recently been changed from -1.8 degree to -0.5 degree, as recommended by a factory representative. Also, the pilot stated that he was aware of a phenomenon called 'cold-freeze' (engine seizure without over temp) that (according to him) had occurred with other engines of this make/modle. He believed there was a possible engine seizure and that reduced settings of the rotor low pitch stops could have resulted in low rotor rpm. No preimpact mechanical problem was found that would have resulted in loss of engine power.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Revolution MINI accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1998 | Revolution MINI-500 | Villa Rica, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jul 1995 | Revolution MINI-500 | Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1997 | Airbus A300 B4-203 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Pan American World Airways, In | No injuries | - |
| 15 Aug 1997 | Bell UH-1H | Tahoe City, California, United States | Usda / Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Cessna 152 | Julian, California, United States | Plus One Flyers, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 Oct 1997 | Schweizer 2-32 | Warner Springs, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Oct 1997 | Bellanca 7ECA | Tracy, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 26 Oct 1997 | Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300 | Castaic, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |