N556DG

On March 28, 2015, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Rotorway 162F helicopter, N556DG, impacted terrain shortly after lifting off from a private helipad in Marquette, Michigan. The commercial rated pilot was not injured and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot, he was operating in a confined area and planned to hover, in order to get some measurements from a vibration computer. Just after bringing the helicopter to a hover, the helicopter started to yaw left, he applied right pedal, but the yaw continued. The pilot then tried to maneuver the helicopter away from buildings, but the helicopter entered into a spin. The pilot added that the helicopter spun at least 6-8 times before a main rotor blade struck a tree. The helicopter then impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor blades, fuselage, and tailboom. The pilot recalled there was only a slight breeze and no wind gusts.

The Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) inspector did not do an on-site examination; however, the pilot inspected the tail rotor drive belts, and was able to determine that at least 2 of the 3 belts were not damaged. He was unable to determine the reason for the loss of tail rotor effectiveness