Kowtun MINI 500 N919WK

Summary

On 14 June 2003 at about 03:20 local time, a Kowtun MINI 500 registered N919WK was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 June 2003 at 03:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT)

Coordinates

33.6881, -112.0825

Aircraft

Kowtun MINI 500

Registration

N919WK

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Deer Valley → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX03LA198

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter experienced a loss of directional control while hovering, collided with the ground, and rolled over. The pilot was performing a hover taxi test flight after adjusting the carburetor. The pilot said in a written report that shortly into the flight, the helicopter "started to spin to the right and would not respond to the left pedal." It then impacted the ground, rolled on its right side, and was consumed by fire. In the section of NTSB Form 6120.1/2, which asks if there was a mechanical malfunction or failure, the pilot wrote "tail rotor drive shaft failure." When contacted by a Safety Board investigator for clarification of the tail rotor issue, the pilot declined to answer any questions pertaining to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.