- Date
- August 9, 1994, 21:30 local (Aug 10, 1994, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bangor, ME
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N292QEnstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940809021069A
- Case key
- 8953
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of aircraft control. Factors are dark night conditions, and the pilot's execution of an evasive maneuver.
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 helicopter collided with terrain during cruise flight at night over wooded terrain in conditions which the pilot described as 'no ground light or cellestial lights.' According to the pilot, he noticed a fast 'moving light coming from my left to right at what appeared to be my altitude.' He did an evasive manuever to avoid a collision, but in doing so he lost control of the helicopter which collided with underlying trees. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On August 9, 1994, about 2130 eastern daylight time, an Enstrom F-28, N292Q, collided with terrain in a wooded area in Old Town, Maine. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The deparute point was Bar Harbor, Maine. The destination was Houlton, Maine. The local personal flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he was about 30 minutes into the flight at an altitude of 1500 feet (mean sea level) and a speed of 100 mph. He reported, "I was over wooded area where there were no lights at all, when all of a sudden I saw a fast moving light coming from left to my right at what appeared to be at my altitude." This really scared me and that is when all my trouble started. I may have put the helicopter into trouble by trying to avoid what I thought was going to hit me . . . After the object went in front of me, the helicopter became almost uncontrollable and the next thing I knew, I was crashing into the woods." The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N292Q
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 312
- Airframe hours
- 1,249
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Merril Kearney, doing business as Houlton Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Houlton Helicopter Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 7, 1994 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- BHB · Bar Harbor, ME
- Destination
- HUL · Houlton, ME
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
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 331 total · 135 in this make and model · 203 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.