- Date
- May 9, 1989, 14:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Regina, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N88RAEnstrom F-28C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890509011279A
- Case key
- 17707
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 poorly planned approach and disregard of the helicopters performance data. Contributing to the accident was the high density altitude conditions which existed at the time of the accident.
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
While conducting a test flt following repairs to the tail rotor due to an earlier accident the plt struck the tail rotor on the ground while transitioning from forward flt to a hover. The ground contact caused the tail rotor drive shaft to fail and the helicopter sustained substantial damage in the ensuing crash. The density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated to be 10,400 ft. the Enstrom F-28C operators handbook notes that the ground effect hover ceiling is 8,800 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88RA
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 344
- Airframe hours
- 688
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Fair, Fred
- Registered owner
- Rusmar, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1989 · 11 hours before
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 60 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALS, 100 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.
Other investigations on N88RA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.