Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F accident near Kimberling, Missouri, April 22, 2000
On April 22, 2000 at about 5:14 pm local time, a amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F (helicopter), registered N627RM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kimberling, Missouri (Kimberling Airways airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
aircraft control not being maintained by the pilot. Factors to the accident were the encountered dynamic rollover and the uneven terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 2000 · about 5:14 pm local time
- Place
- Kimberling, Missouri · Kimberling Airways · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F ROTORWAY E
- Registration
- N627RM · no longer on the register · serial 6203
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported, 'After normal preflight, I lifted off into a hover an air taxied approx 120' towards runway. I sat the helicopter down to turn on my avionics switch. I must not have lowered collective fully, as when I removed my hand from the cyclic, & the wind shifted (which is common at this airport) slightly to right front quarter, it displaced the rotor blades causing a dynamic rollover to the left.' The pilot stated, 'I was concentrating on my slope landing and thinking of my subsequent slope departure so thoroughly I that I did not positively notice rotor rpm dropping as I should have before taking my hand off the cyclic.' The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented by, 'Lowering collective fully before removing hand from cyclic'.
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
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 25,221 hours in all; 78 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 23,570 as pilot in command; 20,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 61 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 7, 1999; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway 162F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MO64 at 5:14 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from HRO, 25 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N627RM the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.