Amateur-built Rotorway Exec 162F accident near Whitehouse, Ohio, September 30, 2001
On September 30, 2001 at about 9:50 pm local time, a amateur-built Rotorway Exec 162F (helicopter), registered N25GR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Whitehouse, Ohio (Private 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
The soft terrain condition, which resulted in the helicopter's rollover during the forced landing. A factor was the loss of engine power due to engine overtemperature for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 30, 2001 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Whitehouse, Ohio · Private · 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
- Registration
- N25GR · registry record · serial 6134
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot conducted a 20-minute flight over his farm and was on final approach to his landing pad when the engine started "missing and backfiring," and lost power at approximately 400 feet altitude. The pilot performed an autorotation to a soybean field, and as the helicopter touched down, it slid forward a few feet, then rolled over on its left side when a skid caught in the soft ground. Data downloaded from the FADEC revealed that for a 40-second period near the end of the flight, the engine temperature increased to 123 degrees centigrade, 22 degrees above the redline limit, before it stopped producing power. The FADEC was subsequently installed on a test cell engine, and the #1 and #2 ECUs were operated throughout the engine's full operational range, independently and together, without malfunction.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,500 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command; 1,800 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 29, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, August 27, 2001; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway 162F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Whitehouse OH at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from KTDZ, 4 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.