- Date
- April 21, 1990, 21:40 local (Apr 22, 1990, 02:40 UTC)
- Place
- Danbury, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N287QEnstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900422010479A
- Case key
- 23124
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
Pilot in command's failure to see and avoid wires during the final stage of an approach to a confined area. A contributing factor to the accident was the pilot's disregard of the operator's instructions after he landed the first time.
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 pilot made a night landing to the operator's private strip and was instructed to taxi to the helipad. Instead, he took off again and executed an approach to a confined area adjacent to the strip. The pilot then disregarded the operator's radio instructions to leave the aircraft there and proceeded to take off and execute two more approaches to the area. On the third approach, the aircraft struck power lines that were strung throughout the area and crashed. The pilot offered no explanation for his behavior or disregard of the operator's instructions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N287Q
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 303
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Salaika, Tim, doing business as Salaika Aviation
- Registered owner
- Salaika, Tim
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · Private
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
- 34
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,729 total · 51 in this make and model · 1,659 as pilot in command · 53 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HOU, 30 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 N287Q · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.