Amateur-built Helicycle accident near Montour, Idaho, April 27, 2004
On April 27, 2004 at about 9:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Helicycle (helicopter), registered N3275Q, was destroyed in an accident near Montour, Idaho. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
In flight collision with terrain for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 2004 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Montour, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Helicycle
- Registration
- N3275Q · no longer on the register · serial HC001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot participated in a photo shoot earlier in the morning before landing and being refueled by company ground support personnel. Communication with the departing helicopter was maintained with ground support personnel until it went around a hill and out of sight. The aircraft was subsequently reported missing and located later in the day, partially submerged in a river located approximately 1 mile northwest of the departure point. There were no witnesses to the accident. An examination of the accident site revealed extensive damage to the helicopter due to impact forces with the water. The tail rotor, tail rotor drive shaft, and a major portion of the empennage and the fuel tanks were missing and never recovered. The engine and accessories were separated from the helicopter's airframe structure. The main rotor mast was free to turn and remained connected to the gearbox. Control continuity could not be determined due to the extensive damage to the helicopter. A small metal arm welded to the tail rotor pedal control torque tube was broken off. An examination of the rudder pedal assembly by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed that the fracture surface patterns were consistent with a bending overstress separation. It could not be determined whether the overstress condition was the result of a precrash or postcrash event. The pilot's helmet, equipped with a video recording device, was not recoverd during the postcrash recovery.
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: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 175 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 850 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Solar T62 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Montour ID at 8:06 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.86 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from BOI, 27 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 N3275Q 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.