What happened
On July 5, 2024, at approximately 08:01 CDT, a Rotorway Scorpion 13 3 helicopter, registration N51017, was involved in an accident near Andale, Kansas. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use. The pilot was performing maneuvers to prepare for a helicopter rating check ride, having departed from his personal residence.
A witness traveling in a vehicle reported hearing a loud bang and seeing debris fall from the aircraft as it descended. The wreckage was found in a wooded area adjacent to a cultivated field, roughly 1.6 miles northeast of the departure location. The helicopter came to rest on its left side in a swale, and a post-crash fire destroyed much of the composite structure. The tail rotor assembly and a portion of the tailboom's tubular steel structure were found approximately 150 yards southwest of the primary wreckage.
The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury.