Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F accident near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1999
On March 14, 1999 at about 3:38 pm local time, a amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F (helicopter), registered N124CF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent induced dynamic rollover. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of helicopter experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 14, 1999 · about 3:38 pm local time
- Place
- Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ROTORWAY EXEC 162F ROTORWAY E
- Registration
- N124CF · registry record · serial 6165
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
This was the pilot's first solo flight in a helicopter. He brought the helicopter to about a 6 inch hover and then drifted left and settled. The left rear skid contacted the ground and the helicopter rolled over on its left side. The pilot held a private pilot certificate for single engine airplanes but had not flown in several years. He had received 9.9 hours of dual instruction in the same model of helicopter, and was signed off for solo flight, but had not flown in the 44 days that preceded the accident flight.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 79 hours in all; 10 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 18, 1999; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway RI 162F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 3:38 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from CXY, 6 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 NYC99LA072.