20260516007019I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Enstrom F-28F · Helena, MT · May 16, 2026

Date: May 16, 2026 · 11:30 local
Place: Helena, MT
Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N857MM
Reported as: Enstrom F-28F
Reported engine: Lycoming HIO-360 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 676 total588 in this make and model

N857MMRegistered now · Enstrom F-28FS/N 723 · Built 1982 Airframe modelEnstrom F-28F Engine modelLycoming HIO-360 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

On 16 may pilot attempted to land helicopter to a level unimproved lz in a pasture, as he was lowering the collective the right side of the helicopter appeared to settle much more than the left, the pilot then applied collective to stop the settling and the helicopter spun around about 360 degrees with the tail roter striking the ground coming to a stop about the same as his initial heading approaching the lz, after shut down he inspected the helicopter and the right skid/gear had collapsed and the tailrotor was damaged.

As the FAA filed it

ON 16 MAY PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LAND HELICOPTER TO A LEVEL UNIMPROVED LZ IN A PASTURE, AS HE WAS LOWERING THE COLLECTIVE THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HELICOPTER APPEARED TO SETTLE MUCH MORE THAN THE LEFT, THE PILOT THEN APPLIED COLLECTIVE TO STOP THE SETTLING AND THE HELICOPTER SPUN AROUND ABOUT 360 DEGREES WITH THE TAIL ROTER STRIKING THE GROUND COMING TO A STOP ABOUT THE SAME AS HIS INITIAL HEADING APPROACHING THE LZ, AFTER SHUT DOWN HE INSPECTED THE HELICOPTER AND THE RIGHT SKID/GEAR HAD COLLAPSED AND THE TAILROTOR WAS DAMAGED.