On 10 Feb 2010, a Leza Lockwood Air Cam operated by Gerhardt C Soeffker was involved in an aviation accident near Everett, WA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadvertent encounter with the rotor downwash from a hovering heavy-lift helicopter. This summary draws on records from NTSB.
While taxiing west between hangars, an ultralight airplane was lifted and overturned by rotor wash from an Army Chinook helicopter hovering over runway 34R. The airplane dropped onto its right wingtip and came to rest upright, displaced 25–30 feet from its original position.
Incident Details
The pilot of an ultralight airplane taxied west between two rows of hangars to the boundary of the non-movement area, then stopped to contact ground control. During this time, an Army Chinook helicopter approached runway 34R and entered a hover over the runway in front of the pilot at an altitude estimated between 75 and 100 feet above ground level (AGL).
Sequence of Events
As the helicopter descended to approximately 20 to 30 feet AGL, the rotor wash from the helicopter lifted the ultralight airplane off the ground and propelled it backward and to the right. The airplane then dropped to the ground on its right wingtip. It came to rest upright approximately 25 to 30 feet from its original position.