Amateur-built MINI-500 accident near Idabel, Oklahoma, September 9, 1997
On September 9, 1997 at about 6:30 pm local time, a amateur-built MINI-500 (helicopter), registered N42JR, was destroyed in an accident near Idabel, Oklahoma (Idabel 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
The loss of control in flight for undetermined reasons. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in helicopters.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 9, 1997 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Idabel, Oklahoma · Idabel Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MINI-500
- Registration
- N42JR · registry record · serial 0259
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness, who was a close friend of the pilot and assisted building the helicopter, observed the aircraft operating approximately 2,000 feet above ground level and about 500 feet from the approach end of runway 35. He then heard the engine slow down and go into 'negative pitch mode.' The witness observed the helicopter in a nose low attitude and then heard a loud boom. He said that the helicopter came to a stop and then he saw pieces falling off the helicopter. The 25,000 hour career airline captain had about 6 hours of total flight time in helicopters.
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, flight instructor, flight engineer, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 25,000 hours in all; 6 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from KTX, 49 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.
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.