Stump ROTORWAY EXEC 90 N169JS

Summary

On 18 November 2006 at about 19:30 local time, a Stump ROTORWAY EXEC 90 registered N169JS was involved in an accident near Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 November 2006 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Manchester, New Hampshire, United States

Nearest airport

Manchester Airport (MHT)

Coordinates

43.0025, -71.4853

Aircraft

Stump ROTORWAY EXEC 90

Registration

N169JS

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nashua → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07LA030

Nobody was injured.

An improperly installed oil line, which resulted in oil line fatigue failure and a subsequent loss of oil to the engine. A contributing factor was the sloping terrain at the forced landing site.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amatuer-built helicopter was about 45 minutes into its flight when the pilot heard a "pop," and saw a puff of blue smoke. He also noticed an odor of "burning" oil, and heard "crackling" in the engine compartment on the pilot's side of the helicopter. He selected a forced landing site and entered autorotation as the engine "sputtered" and stopped producing power. The helicopter touched down on an upslope with forward motion, then rolled over on to its side. A split engine oil suppy line was identified at the site, and examination revealed that beneath the torn fire sleeve and damaged outer braiding material, there was longitudinal cracking about 1 inch in length due to fatigue. Positioning of the oil line on the accident helicopter was different than a factory-assembled version that was examined, but because the helicopter was amateur built, there was no standard. Photographs of the oil line installation on the 23 year-old accident helicopter suggested the oil line was curved more tightly than the manufacturer's suggested minimum radius, and showed the oil line in close proximity to a source of high heat; the engine exhaust.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.