# Accident 20120403004559A: Enstrom 280FX, Corpus Christi, TX, April 3, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 3, 2012, 15:42 local time
- Place: Corpus Christi, TX
- Airport: Corpus Christi
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.7703° N, 97.5011° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.7703&lon=-97.5011&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3042D (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: ENSTROM 280FX
- Reported engine: LYCOMING HIO-360-F1AD
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 17,337 total, 1,345 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN12LA228](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA228) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120403004559A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 3, 2012, AN ENSTROM, 280FX, HELICOPTER WAS COMING IN FOR A LANDING, AT THE CORPUS CHRISTI AIRPORT, WHEN THE AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AND DROPPED FROM A 15 FOOT HOVER AND LANDED HARD ONTO THE GRASS JUST OFF THE RAMP. THE PILOT SUFFERED A MINOR CUT TO THE HEAD AND THE OBSERVER, PASSENGER, WAS NOT INJURED. THE HELICOPTER HAD SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THERE WAS NO POST FIRE.

## 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 CEN12LA228](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA228), Apr 3, 2012: Enstrom 280FX (N3042D), Corpus Christi, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the bolt that retained the clutch drive rod end, which resulted in a loss of main rotor drive and a subsequent hard landing.

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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