Amateur-built Rotoway Exc 162F accident near Foley, Alabama, March 29, 2007
On March 29, 2007 at about 2:10 pm local time, a amateur-built Rotoway Exc 162F (helicopter), registered N494D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Foley, Alabama (Foley Municipal Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Loss of engine power due to failure of the No. 4 engine exhaust valve.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 2007 · about 2:10 pm local time
- Place
- Foley, Alabama · Foley Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Rotoway Exc 162F
- Registration
- N494D · registry record · serial 6567
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), the purpose of the flight was for the student to practice approaches and departures. They used a parallel taxiway for takeoff. The student pilot was at the controls and began a normal takeoff. When they were about 250 feet above ground level (agl) on initial climb out the engine started backfiring and the helicopter began yawing left and right. The CFI immediately took the controls as the engine RPM started to decay. He entered an autorotation and reduced the engine RPM to reduce the yawing from the engine backfiring. At about 40 feet agl he flared the helicopter to stop the descent and slow the forward airspeed. He leveled the helicopter and they settled to the surface and were sliding forward when the front skids snagged the grass and the helicopter nosed over coming to rest on the right side. The CFI and student pilot escaped without injury. Examination of the helicopter by an FAA Inspector, found the helicopter resting on its right side with substantial damage to the main rotor blades, windscreen and the tail boom. Further examination of the engine found the engines No. 4 exhaust valve stuck in the valve guide with the rocker arm out of position.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,661 hours in all; 954 in this make and model; 87 in the last 90 days; 43 in the last 30 days; 1,092 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 76 hours in all; 76 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 24 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 63 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, July 1, 2006; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway RI-162F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 5R4 Foley AL
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.23 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from MOB, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.