Amateur-built EXECUTIVE accident near Stayton, Oregon, January 31, 1998
On January 31, 1998 at about 10:00 pm local time, a amateur-built EXECUTIVE (helicopter), registered N50499, was destroyed in an accident near Stayton, Oregon. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Main rotor strike and separation of the tail boom for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 1998 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Stayton, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EXECUTIVE
- Registration
- N50499 · registry record · serial ES002
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built helicopter collided with terrain after in-flight separation of its tail boom and tail rotor while maneuvering. Witnesses described the helicopter making about 4 passes over the field at about 500 feet above the surface. On the last pass, there was a hard yaw to the right; the helicopter then straightened out, pitched into a flare, then the tail came up and the main rotor struck the tail-boom. The tail-boom, tail rotor, and bubble canopy separated from the helicopter. The main wreckage was located about 300 feet from those components.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 953 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway RW152D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Salem OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N50499 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.