Amateur-built ROTORWAY 162F accident near Berlin, Vermont, June 5, 2009
On June 5, 2009 at about 4:10 pm local time, a amateur-built ROTORWAY 162F (helicopter), registered N162RY, was destroyed in an accident during approach near Berlin, Vermont (Edward F Knapp airport). 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
A loss of control in flight for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 2009 · about 4:10 pm local time
- Place
- Berlin, Vermont · Edward F Knapp · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ROTORWAY 162F
- Registration
- N162RY · registry record · serial 6673
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental amateur-built helicopter was approaching an airport when witnesses heard a “pop noise” and saw it nose down, “straight into the ground.” The main wreckage was located about 360 feet from a treeline. There were no skid marks and no evidence of tree impact. The majority of the helicopter was consumed in a postcrash fire, which precluded a thorough examination. Debris from the aircraft was located about 1/2-mile from the accident site, on what would have been a left base to the runway. Additional items, including cabin door plexiglass material and a piece of horizontal stabilizer fin, extended aft of the impact site about 320 feet. The main rotor system was collapsed downward, and the swashplate assembly and flight control system were destroyed. The main rotor blades exhibited fire damage, and appeared to have “very little” impact damage, with no notable damage to the leading edges. The tail boom was melted from the fuselage attach point to 2 to 3 feet forward of the tail rotor gearbox, which was rotated without binding. The tail rotor blades were broken near their bases, and one blade was impaled in the ground. A postmortem examination of the pilot, who was also the builder, did not reveal any preaccident medical anomalies.
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
- Loss of control in flight during approach defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,550 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 147 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, January 2, 2009
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway RI 162F (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MPV Berlin VT
- Destination: MPV Berlin VT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,002 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 7:51 pm from MPV, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.