Amateur-built Exec 162F accident near Westford, Massachusetts, February 15, 2003
On February 15, 2003 at about 9:10 pm local time, a amateur-built Exec 162F (helicopter), registered N241WC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Westford, Massachusetts. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inflight loss of control due to the loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 15, 2003 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Westford, Massachusetts · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Exec 162F
- Registration
- N241WC · registry record · serial 6588
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had just made a steep approach to a confined area and was pulling into a full hover, when the helicopter began a rapid rotation to the left. The pilot applied full right pedal, but could not stop the rotation. He did not perform an autorotation from a hover because he was concerned of landing hard, rolling over, and shedding parts that could have possibly hurt his friend, who was standing nearby. Instead, he lifted the helicopter back up and tried to fly to a vacant area. During the ascent, the pilot was able to slow the rotation by reducing power, but was never able to completely stop the rotation. He was not able to perform an autorotation because he had no forward airspeed, so he put the helicopter down into trees. The pilot stated that he had experienced Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness (LTE) in the past, but due to the strong head wind, and the sudden rapidness of the rotation, he did not feel that this was an LTE situation. An FAA inspector reported that one of the tail rotor pitch change links was fractured, but did not take possession of the link at that time. The pilot/owner initially agreed to send the pitch change link to the Safety Board to be examined, but later determined that the part had failed during impact, and discarded the wreckage.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,054 hours in all; 172 in this make and model; 3,026 in the last 90 days; 303 in the last 30 days; 2,979 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 172 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2002; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BED Bedford MA at 7:50 pm
- Destination: Westford MA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 12°F (-11°C), dew point -15°F (-26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.35 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from BED, 10 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number IAD03LA033.