Accident Overview
On July 18, 2017, at 2030 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Baby Belle helicopter, registration N211CJ, was substantially damaged during a hard landing near Spartanburg, South Carolina. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was registered to a private company and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations part 91 as a local personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) at 2000.
Pilot's Account
According to the pilot, he was returning from a local flight around the airfield and preparing to land. While flying about 4 ft above ground level at an indicated airspeed between 16 and 24 mph, he felt a shudder and the helicopter yawed to the right. He applied left antitorque pedal input and overcorrected, then adjusted with right antitorque pedal input, which confirmed he had tail rotor authority. He reported that when the helicopter straightened out, he did not recall hearing any engine noise, although the doors were off. The next thing he recalled was being on the ground with the helicopter leaking fuel. He also stated he did not hear any horns or audible annunciations.
Wreckage Examination
The pilot recovered the wreckage to a storage facility and reported the event to the National Transportation Safety Board on July 24. Initial examination revealed substantial damage to the airframe. The main rotor blades were bent and delaminated, and the tailboom was severed. Subsequent examination showed control continuity from the cyclic and collective controls in the cockpit to the main rotor area, with all fractures in the collective and cyclic control linkages consistent with overload. Continuity was also established from the antitorque pedals to the tail cone. The tail rotor drive shaft was severed in multiple places, with all fractures exhibiting overload signatures; the bearings moved freely. The 90-degree gearbox rotated freely without binding.
Engine Examination
An initial examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft would not rotate. Further examination found oil in two of the cylinders, resulting in a hydraulic lock condition. After the oil was drained, the engine could be turned freely. A subsequent test run of the engine was performed; it started normally using the cockpit controls and ran without evidence of a malfunction or anomaly.
Pilot Information
According to Federal Aviation Administration airman records, the pilot did not possess a rotorcraft-helicopter rating at the time of the accident. The pilot reported 46 hours of rotorcraft flight experience, all in the make and model of the accident helicopter.