Amateur-built SCORPION 133 accident near West Hamlin, West Virginia, August 20, 1984
On August 20, 1984 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built SCORPION 133 (helicopter), registered N4230S, was destroyed in an accident near West Hamlin, West Virginia. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 1984 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- West Hamlin, West Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SCORPION 133 SCORPION 1
- Registration
- N4230S · no longer on the register · serial 2902
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT WAS OBSERVED PROCEEDING OVER OPEN FIELD USED AS AIR STRIP IN LEVEL FLT, APRX 130 FT AGL, AT 50 KTS. AT END OF FIELD ACFT BEGAN LEFT TURN, NOSE DROPPED TO STEEP DESCENT ATTITUDE WHICH CONTINUED TO GROUND IMPACT. POST-MORTEM SHOWED TRIPLE-BYPASS SURGERY GRAFTS HAD SIGNIFICANT ATHEROSCLEROTIC WALL THICKENING TO 80 PERCENT COMPROMISE WITH PRESENT CONTAINED THROMBUS. EXTREMITY LACERATIONS AND SEVERAL INTERNAL FRACTURES WERE ABSENT OF HEMORRHAGE.
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
Pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 196 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1981
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Unknown UNKNOWN (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from CRW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.