Amateur-built AG162 accident near Valley View, Texas, October 13, 2025
On October 13, 2025 at about 5:29 pm local time, a 2012 amateur-built AG162 (helicopter), registered N162AD, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Valley View, Texas. It was a personal 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).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 13, 2025 · about 5:29 pm local time
- Place
- Valley View, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AG162, built 2012
- Registration
- N162AD · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 13, 2025, at 1229 central daylight time, a Rotorway AG162 helicopter, N162AD, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Valley View, Texas. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The helicopter was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that he was en route to Hardy Field Airport, Valley View, Texas, when there was a decrease in main rotor speed. The pilot stated that he was unable to increase rotor speed and maintain altitude with control and engine inputs. He then performed a forced landing to a field, during which the tailboom separated from the airframe and resulted in substantial damage. The helicopter was retained for examination.
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
What happened, in order
- Unknown or undetermined during enroute defining event
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from DTO, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN26LA016.