- Date
- July 30, 1983, 11:11 local (15:11 UTC)
- Place
- Brunswick, GA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9078Enstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830730036779A
- Case key
- 6144
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt reported that the helicopter was 'topped off' with fuel before takeoff. About 1 hr & 10 min after takeoff, there reportedly was a loud 'bang' which was followed by sputtering from the eng & a decay in the eng RPM. An autorotation was made into a small clearing in a wooded, swampy area. During landing, the main rotor severed the tail boom. An exam of the eng was made, but no descrepancies that would result in a power loss were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9078
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 193
- Airframe hours
- 1,748
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-C1B, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Chopper One Night Sign, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · July 28, 1983 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- 49J · Hilton Head, SC
- Destination
- JAX · Jacksonville, FL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,051 total · 755 in this make and model · 9,450 as pilot in command · 105 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SSI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.