Enstrom 280FX N724BF

Summary

On 8 August 2001 at about 00:30 local time, a Enstrom 280FX registered N724BF was involved in an accident near Ouray, Colorado, 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

8 August 2001 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ouray, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

38.0302, -107.6409

Aircraft

Enstrom 280FX

Registration

N724BF

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montrose → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01LA141

Nobody was injured.

the partial loss of engine power due to the slippage of the wastegate linkage as a result of the plunger on the linkage being undertorqued by an unknown person. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to landing the helicopter at an altitude of about 12,000 feet mean sea level, the pilot completed a "power check," and at that time, the engine was able to develop 39 inches of manifold pressure. While on short final, the pilot added power, however, the engine could only achieve 31 inches of manifold pressure. The pilot then executed a forced landing to a grassy area at the top of a slope. Approximately 10 feet agl, the low rotor rpm horn sounded, and the pilot "cushioned the landing with little power." Subsequently, the helicopter slid off the slope, rolled over, and came to rest on its right side. The helicopter was recovered and examined by a helicopter mechanic and the pilot. During the examination, the mechanic found that "the wastegate linkage sheath was in its detent." However, "the sheath took two fingers with very light pressure to pull it out of its detent." The mechanic attributed the ease with which he was able to pull the sheath out of the detent to "the ball plunger on the wastegate linkage not being torqued." In the mechanic's opinion, "between the light torque on the ball plunger and the heat in the engine compartment, the sheath for the wastegate linkage would at times slide on the inside shaft. Without collective, throttle, and wastegate rigging working together, this would greatly affect power or lack of power."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.