Amateur-built SCORPION 133 accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, June 29, 1985
On June 29, 1985 at about 6:49 pm local time, a amateur-built SCORPION 133 (helicopter), registered N45877, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado (Walker Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
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
- June 29, 1985 · about 6:49 pm local time
- Place
- Grand Junction, Colorado · Walker Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SCORPION 133 SCORPION 1
- Registration
- N45877 · no longer on the register · serial 12598
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A GROUP OF PLTS WERE PREPARING FOR AN AIRSHOW FLYBY. AS A FORMATION OF AIRPLANES WERE BEING TAXIED TO RWY 29, THE PLT OF A HOME BUILT SCORPION 133 HELICOPTER, N45877, WAS CLEARED TO AIR TAXI ACROSS RWY 29 & PROCEED TO RWY 22. AS THE HELICOPTER PLT WAS APPROACHING RWY 22 & WAS IN A DESCENDING LEFT TURN, A HOME BUILT AIRPLANE WAS TAKING OFF ON THE SAME RWY (22). TO AVOID A POSSIBLE COLLISION, THE HELICOPTER PLT MADE A HARD LEFT TURN & 'PUSHED IT TO THE GROUND' BETWEEN RWY 22 & THE PARALLEL TAXIWAY. DURING TOUCHDOWN, THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER. THE PLT STATED THAT THE LANDING WAS NOT HARD. HE BELIEVED THAT GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION CAUSED THE HELICOPTER TO ROLL OVER.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 478 hours in all; 170 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 426 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,756 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 19, 1985; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,235 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway RW133 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GJT
- Destination: GJT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 5,366 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 6 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from GJT
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.