Tucker Mitchel C H 13 N9669

Summary

On 17 January 2016 at about 01:30 local time, a Tucker Mitchel C H 13 registered N9669, operated by Great Cloud Design Incorporated, was involved in an accident near Zephyrhills, Florida, United States. One person was 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

17 January 2016 at 01:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Zephyrhills, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Zephyrhills Muni (ZPH)

Coordinates

28.2306, -82.1611

Aircraft

Tucker Mitchel C H 13

Registration

N9669

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Great Cloud Design Incorporated

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Zephyrhills → Zephyrhills

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16CA102

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while on ground standing with the engine running during high crosswind conditions which resulted in a static rollover and collision with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental helicopter was returning from a local flight and landed near his hanger to drop off his passenger. After his passenger disembarked, the pilot was preparing to take off and reposition the helicopter to another spot, but before he added power for liftoff, a strong gust of wind struck the left side of the helicopter, thrusting the cyclic control out of his hand and hard over to the right. This caused the helicopter to lift up and roll onto its right side, causing substantial damage to the blades, engine mount, fuselage and tail boom. The pilot stated, it happened very quickly and there was no chance to recover. Post-accident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions which would have precluded normal operation. The wind at the time of the accident was from 240 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 17.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.