N66012 – Brooks Exec 162F – 2007-12-22 NTSB Accident Report

On December 22, 2007, a Brooks Exec 162F (N66012) was involved in an incident near Santa Maria, CA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during hover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in rotorcraft.

The pilot was hovering his amateur built experimental helicopter for the first time. Upon liftoff, the helicopter began drifting to the left, and the pilot lowered the collective without controlling the drift to the left. The left skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter experienced dynamic rollover and rolled over coming to rest on its left side. The pilot had a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. He was not rated in helicopters and his total time in rotorcraft was 12 hours, all of which were dual instruction in the accident make and model of helicopter.

This incident is documented in NTSB report SEA08CA055. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N66012.