Enstrom F-28F N223RS

Summary

On 10 October 2000 at about 14:30 local time, a Enstrom F-28F registered N223RS was involved in an accident near Twin Falls, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 October 2000 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Twin Falls, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.4109, -114.5891

Aircraft

Enstrom F-28F

Registration

N223RS

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Twin Falls → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA01LA003

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm. Unsuitable terrain was selected for the maintenance test flight operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during a maintenance test flight to check controls, collective pitch position, throttle positioning, and rpm correlation control entering an autorotation, he entered the autorotation with low rpm. When the pilot corrected with collective pitch, the correlator over responded, resulting in an rpm overspeed. The pilot closed the throttle and increased the collective, however, the rpm dropped and the pilot had to complete the autorotation to touch down on rough terrain. So as not to have any forward speed at touch down, and fearing that the helicopter might roll over, the pilot anticipated a hard flare to stop the forward speed. Just prior to touch down, the tailrotor contacted the ground, and the tailrotor gearbox separated from the tail boom. The helicopter yawed to the right about 150 degrees before the pilot was able to level the helicopter, arrest the yaw and land without further incident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.