Hall REVOLUTION MINI 500 accident near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, August 30, 1998
On August 30, 1998 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Hall REVOLUTION MINI 500 (helicopter), an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N9GH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Bobby L. Chain Munc. 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 failure of the pilot to maintain main rotor rpm during a forward hover and the cyclic grip separating during the resultant bounced landing resulting in the pilot losing cyclic control and the main rotor contacting the tail boom. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total time in the make and model.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 1998 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi · Bobby L. Chain Munc. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hall REVOLUTION MINI 500 REVOLUTION, amateur-built
- Registration
- N9GH · no longer on the register · serial 288
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that as he hovered forward at a brisk walk, he heard the low rotor rpm horn. He lowered the collective and the helicopter descended rapidly and touched down on the 'toes' of the skids. The helicopter bounced back into the air and the cyclic control grip separated from the cyclic control stick. The cyclic control moved to the full aft position and the main rotor blades contacted the tail boom.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,400 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 99 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 840 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Bombardier 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HBG at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from GPT, 50 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.
Other NTSB records under N9GH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.