Amateur-built EXEC accident near Chino Hills, California, August 6, 2011
On August 6, 2011 at about 8:55 pm local time, a amateur-built EXEC (helicopter), registered N162CT, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Chino Hills, California (Chino airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of both the owner's and the pilot's failure to determine or monitor the remaining fuel quantity during the flight. Contributing to the accident was the manufacturer's lack of fuel consumption rate data for planning purposes.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2011 · about 8:55 pm local time
- Place
- Chino Hills, California · Chino · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EXEC 162F
- Registration
- N162CT · registry record · serial 6445
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor/owner of the experimental amateur-built helicopter took the rotorcraft-rated private pilot on an informal demonstration flight. The two spent about 40 minutes conducting traffic pattern work at a local airport and then departed the area, flying about 500 feet above ground level. The private pilot was the pilot flying. When the helicopter was about 7 miles from the airport, the pilot noticed that the engine "sputtered," and called it to the attention of the owner, who then took control of the helicopter. The engine ceased operating about the same time. The owner initiated a 180-degree autorotation to a vacant field. Due to some forward speed at touchdown, the landing skids dug into the turf and the helicopter pitched nose down. The main rotor struck the ground and also severed the tail boom, and the helicopter rolled onto its left side. Postaccident examination indicated that there was less than 1 gallon of fuel remaining on board. The manufacturer's pilots operating handbook did not contain any fuel consumption rate information; the only reference to range or endurance was the statement "Range with maximum fuel at optimum power 180 miles/2 hrs." The owner reported that he began the flight with 17 gallons (the maximum quantity) , and that the engine consumed about 9 gallons per hour; he did not specify the source of that information or the power setting or flight mode for that consumption rate. Since the fuel consumption rate for takeoffs and traffic pattern work can be significantly higher than that for cruise flight at "optimum power," the endurance of the helicopter during the accident flight would have been commensurately less than 2 hours. The helicopter was equipped with a fuel quantity gauge and cockpit instrumentation also provided a means for a pilot to determine the approximate remaining fuel quantity in flight by selecting the "fuel used"' option on the cockpit display. Neither the pilot nor the owner reported using either means to check or monitor fuel quantity during the 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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during enroute (cruise)
- Autorotation Fuel exhaustion
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine fuel and control › (general) › Not specified
- factor Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Related operating info
- factor Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Related operating info
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,984 hours in all; 415 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 1,871 as pilot in command; 450 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 15, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 205 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 26, 2011; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotorway 162F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CNO Chino CA at 8:15 pm
- Destination: CNO Chino CA
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from CNO, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
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 WPR11LA373.