Brantly B-2 N5950X

Summary

On 1 October 2006 at about 13:30 local time, a Brantly B-2 registered N5950X was involved in an accident near Arkansas City, Kansas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 October 2006 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Arkansas City, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.0667, -96.9167

Aircraft

Brantly B-2

Registration

N5950X

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arkansas City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN07CA001

2 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the low rotor RPM.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the attempted takeoff, he raised the collective and the helicopter "became light on its skids." The pilot verified the wind conditions based on his observation with nearby trees. The wind was observed to be "light" and from the south-southwest direction. The pilot initiated a turn into the direction of the wind, and prior to transitional lift, the rotor RPM dropped. The pilot attempted to recover the drop in rotor RPM by lowering the collective. The helicopter skids touched the terrain, and the helicopter rolled over on it's right side. The pilot stated, "I believe I got a wind gust that contributed to the low [rotor] RPM."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.