Enstrom F-28C N5689T

Summary

On 10 September 1995 at about 18:23 local time, a Enstrom F-28C registered N5689T, operated by Calaveras Aviation, was involved in an accident near Livermore, California, United States. 3 people were on board and one died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 September 1995 at 18:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Livermore, California, United States

Coordinates

37.6792, -121.7505

Aircraft

Enstrom F-28C

Registration

N5689T

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Calaveras Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95LA332

1 person died.

the pilot's inadequate preflight fuel load determination procedures which resulted in fuel exhaustion. In addition, the pilot's delayed and improper use of the collective and cyclic flight controls following the engine failure led to his failure to maintain airspeed and main rotor rpm. The inaccuracy of the fuel indicating system was a factor in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was being used to give 5-minute for-hire sightseeing rides to airshow patrons. The pilot transmitted over the local control frequency that he had a power failure and was going down. Another airborne helicopter pilot saw the helicopter about 300 feet above ground in a nose-high attitude and yawing to the right as it descended vertically. The witness said the yaw continued during the descent until it was slightly nose low at ground impact. Responding fire department units did not find fuel leaks in the tanks or lines. FAA inspectors found the fuel system intact with no evidence of tank or line rupture. About 1 pint of fuel was drained from each of the fuel tanks during recovery of the helicopter. The operator said a computed tabulation system was used to keep track of the fuel onboard the helicopter. On paper estimated fuel usage was subtracted from the amount believed onboard and fuel added during the day was added to the total. No calibrated dipstick was used to determine the amount of fuel in the tanks. All three main rotor blades were found coned upwards. The tail rotor blades were not damaged. The engine was put in a production test cell and ran normally. Tests of the fuel gage showed it read accurately at zero. As the amount of fuel was increased, a progressively higher error was noted. At 1/4 system capacity, the gage read twice the amount it should.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.