- Date
- July 3, 1996, 11:55 local (17:55 UTC)
- Place
- Castle Rock, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N51763Enstrom 280C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 18, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960703016019A
- Case key
- 19896
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
Total failure of the magneto. A factor was the pilot operating the helicopter with a known deficiency.
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 engine lost power and an autorotation was made. The helicopter was substantially damaged during the run-on landing on a rough field. Postaccident testing disclosed that when the magneto was rotated, none of the 12 leads produced a spark. When the distributor cap was removed, it was noted that none of the points opened when the magneto was rotated. An FAA inspector heard the engine missing on the day prior to the accident. He suggested to the pilot that the engine be checked before further flight. The pilot told the inspector that the condition was 'common on Enstrom helicopters when the engine is hot.'
Factual narrative
On July 3, 1996, approximately 1155 mountain daylight time, N51763, an Enstrom 280C, was substantially damaged during a forced landing 8 miles south of Castle Rock, Colorado. The flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The instructional flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Englewood, Colorado, on July 3, 1996, approximately 1150.
According to the pilots, they were in a slow climb from 500 feet to 750 feet agl (above ground level). The engine began to sputter, then lost power. They made an autorotation and run-on landing on a rough field. During the landing roll, the left front skid and crossover tube collapsed, causing the helicopter to veer 90 degrees to the left and the main rotor blades to sever the tail boom.
An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the helicopter on November 20, 1996. According to his report, the magneto (Bendix m/n D4LN-2200, s/n 35413) had failed. When the magneto was rotated, none of the 12 leads produced a spark. When the distributor cap was removed, it was noted that none of the points opened when the magneto was rotated.
In a telephone interview, the inspector also said that on the day prior to the accident, he observed the helicopter landing at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. He said the engine was missing noticeably. He suggested that the pilots (the same ones involved in the accident) have the engine checked before further flight. According to the inspector, the instructor replied that the condition was "common on Enstrom helicopters when the engine is hot."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51763
- Reported as
- Enstrom 280C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1153
- Airframe hours
- 1,500
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Denver Helicopters, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Darcor Holding
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 25, 1996 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- CO93 · Larkspur, CO
- Destination
- APA · Englewood, CO
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total · 321 in this make and model · 1,000 as pilot in command · 158 in the last 90 days · 54 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- APA, 12 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 N51763 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.