- Date
- October 31, 1987, 16:58 local (21:58 UTC)
- Place
- Lapeer, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9583Enstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 7, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871031061589A
- Case key
- 14007
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 helicopter was in cruise flt when the rgt side horizontal stabilizer attach tube failed & separated from the tail boom, then contacted the tail rotor. This resulted in failure of the tail rotor drive shaft flex coupling at the tail rotor gear box. In turn, there was a loss of tail rotor thrust. The plt made a successful autorotation in an open field. An exam of the rgt horizontal stabilizer attach tube revealed it had failed from fatigue at the rgt inboard attach hole. The fatigue originated at a surface defect on the outer diameter of the tube which was caused by misaligned drilling.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9583
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 112
- Airframe hours
- 1,178
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-A1A, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Frank Manderville, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 3, 1987 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- D98 · Romeo, MI
- Destination
- Lupton, MI
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 714 total · 592 in this make and model · 505 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 14 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FNT, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.