NTSB Factual Report

On January 1, 2001, at 1529 hours Pacific standard time, a Wallace Rotorway Exec 152 amateur-built helicopter, N94LW, was destroyed when it rolled over from a hover and subsequently caught fire at a private airstrip near Placerville, California. The helicopter was operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local solo instructional flight, which was departing at the time of the accident.

The pilot stated to a deputy sheriff, who responded to the scene, that he had just finished building the helicopter and this was its "maiden voyage." He had been receiving instruction towards his private pilot certificate and was endorsed for hover only solo.

He reported that he was hovering in a dirt field and as he started to back the helicopter the tail rotor guard struck the ground, the main rotor flapped down striking the tail boom, and the left skid hit the ground and collapsed. The helicopter then rolled over.

After exiting the helicopter the pilot attempted to roll the helicopter upright but fuel leaking from the fuel cap ignited when it contacted the engine exhaust. The helicopter was destroyed in the subsequent fire.

NTSB Probable Cause

The failure of the student pilot to maintain adequate ground clearance while hovering.