Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE accident near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, March 4, 1984
On March 4, 1984 at about 5:00 pm local time, a amateur-built ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE (helicopter), registered N44818, was destroyed in an accident near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale Exec. airport). 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
- March 4, 1984 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida · Ft. Lauderdale Exec.
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXECUTIVE ROTORWAY E
- Registration
- N44818 · no longer on the register · serial 2933
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE COMMERCIAL/ATP PLT WAS NOT RATED FOR HELICOPTERS. HE STATED THAT 'WHILE IN FLT POSITION' TO CHECK THE CYCLIC PRESSURES, A STRONG GUST OF WIND LIFTED THE HELICOPTER OFF THE GROUND & ROLLED IT OVER ON ITS SIDE. HE BELIEVED THAT THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF THE HELICOPTER HAD BEEN FACING THE WIND. APRX 5 MI NORTHWEST AT THE FT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERL AIRPORT, THE WIND WAS FROM 110 DEG AT 8 KTS.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 5 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rotorway 145 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FXE Ft. Laurdale FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:00 pm from FLL, 5 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.