# Accident 20050629011989A: Enstrm ENSTROM480, Scofield, UT, June 29, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 29, 2005, 13:00 local time
- Place: Scofield, UT
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.6701° N, 111.0105° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6701&lon=-111.0105&mi=10
- Aircraft: N480EH, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N480EH) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Enstrom Helicopter 480B (registry code 3300561, https://openairdocs.org/model/enstrom-helicopter-480b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C20W (registry code 54189, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c20w) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ENSTRM ENSTROM480
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,900 total, 278 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN05LA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA102) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050629011989A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) PILOT WAS CONDUCTING A LOW LEVEL PHOTO MISSION OF PROPERTY. PRESSURE ALTITUDE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,435 MSL, TEMPERATURE 24 DEGREES C, CALCULATION INDICATES DA AT 10,000 FEET, WINDS WERE COMING UP THE CANYON FROM SOUTH EAST AT APPROXIMATELY 10 KNOTS. PILOT TURNED AIRCRAFT DOWNWIND AT APPROXIMATELY 60 FEET WITH 30 KNOTS OF AIRSPEED. AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO DESCEND. PILOT INTERPRETED THIS AS SETTLING WITH POWER BUT STATES THAT THERE WAS NO INCREASE IN AIRCRAFT VIBRATION OR SLOPPYNESS IN FLIGHT CONTROLS. PILOT DECREASED COLLECTIVE THINKING IT WOULD HELP GET OUT OF HIS PERCEIVED SETTLING WITH POWER CONDITION, DESCENT INCREASED AND PILOT INCREASED COLLECTIVE JUST BEFORE TAIL ROTOR IMPACTED SAGE BRUSH. TAIL ROTOR IMPACTED SAGE BRUSH AND SHEARED COUPLING ON TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT. AIRCRAFT BOUNCED INTO AIR AND MADE ONE OR TWO 360 DEGREE ROTATIONS THE IMPACTED HARD ON LEFT REAR PORTION OF SKID. AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE AND SLID RIGHT APPROXIMATELY 15 FEET THEN IMPACTED HARD COMING TO REST. DAMAGE TO AFT FUSELAGE, TAIL BOOM BECAME SEPARATED ON LEFT ATTACHING POINTS, TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT SHEARED AT INPUT COUPLING TO TAIL ROTOR GEAR BOX, DAMAGE TO TAIL ROTOR BLADES, COLLAPSED LEFT SKID AND AFT RIGHT SKID.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN05LA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA102), Jun 29, 2005: Enstrom 480B (N480EH), Scofield, UT, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter. Contributing factor's include the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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