# Accident 20210509011859A: Enstrom F-28F, Palmer, AK, May 9, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 9, 2021, 14:29 local time
- Place: Palmer, AK
- Airport: Palmer Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 61.5641° N, 149.1269° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5641&lon=-149.1269&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8627J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8627J-2023-03-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Enstrom F-28F (registry code 3300412, https://openairdocs.org/model/enstrom-f-28f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming HIO-360 series (registry code 41524, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-hio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ENSTROM F-28F
- Reported engine: LYCOMING HIO-360 SER
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC21LA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC21LA038) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210509011859A

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT ABOUT 1.5 INTO SIGHTSEEING OPERATIONS.   WHILE IN CRUISE AT ~350 AGL, CLUTCH LIGHT FLICKERED AND THEN FULLY DISENGAGED.  DUE TO SHORT RESPONSE TIME, PILOT WAS UNABLE TO REAPPLY CLUTCH MANUALLY.   AUTOROTATION WAS ENTERED IMMEDIATELY WITH NEAR ZERO GROUND RUN.   AIRCRAFT LANDED IN PLOWED FIELD THAT WAS WET FROM RAIN AND SNOW MELT.   SKIDS SANK INTO MUD ON LANDING AND AIRCRAFT LURCHED TO HARD STOP PUTTING TAIL BOOM INTO ROTOR, CHOPPING OFF TAIL ROTOR.  AIRCRAFT SECURED WITH NO INJURIES.   PILOT FLYING WAS AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS TEST PILOT WITH OVER 10000 HOURS IN THIS AIRCRAFT.

## 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 ANC21LA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC21LA038), May 9, 2021: Enstrom F-28F (N8627J), Palmer, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: A loss of drive to the rotor system due to the disengagement of the main belt drive tensioning system, which resulted in a forced landing. The disengagement was due to inadequate clearance between…

## Other reports on N8627J (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19891114045269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19891114045269A), Nov 14, 1989: Enstrm F28F (N8627J), Wilmington, DE, Substantial damage. CFI told student to enrich mixture for landing. Student pulled mixture to idle cut off. Made autoroted run 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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.