# Accident 20080624841799A: Enstrm 480B, Marinette, WI, June 24, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 24, 2008, 08:40 local time
- Place: Marinette, WI
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.0806° N, 87.6204° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.0806&lon=-87.6204&mi=10
- Aircraft: N480PD (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: ENSTRM 480B
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20W
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 7,409 total, 673 in this make and model, 109 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI08FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08FA172) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080624841799A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JUNE 24, 2008 AT 0840 CDT AN ENSTROM HELICOPTER, MODEL 480B, REGISTERED TO ENSTROM HELICOPTER CORPORATION OF MENOMINEE, MICHIGAN SUFFERED AN INFLIGHT STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF THE HELICOPTER'S TAILCONE.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING UNDER A SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE WITH AN EXPERIMENTAL CATEGORY FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKET SURVEY AND CREW TRAINING.  WHILE PERFORMING MAIN ROTOR BLADE TRACKING AND TRIM CHECKS AT VNE THE AIRCRAFT VIOLENTLY PITCHED DOWN AND ROLLED TO THE LEFT.  CONTROL WAS REGAINED ALTHOUGH TAIL ROTOR CONTROL WAS LOST.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDED IN A FIELD ADJACENT TO MARINETTE, WISCONSIN.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME.  A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED.  THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE COMMERCIAL PILOT OR THE FLIGHT TEST MECHANIC.  AFTER THE FLIGHT IT WAS DETERMINED THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED AT 6 KTS OVER THE CALCULATED VNE AND 80 LBS OVER GROSS WEIGHT. A PRE-EXISTING, 3 INCH BY 2.5 INCH BY .125 INCH.  DENT EXISTED ON THE LOWER RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE TAILCONE INTHE AREA OF THE FAILURE.

## 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 CHI08FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI08FA172), Jun 24, 2008: Enstrom Helicopter 480B (N480PD), Marinette, WI, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot inadvertently operating the helicopter at a gross weight greater than its maximum allowable operating weight, and flying the helicopter at an airspeed greater than the never-to-exceed speed…

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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