FTW98LA342

The pilot was departing to the east when he noticed a drop in rotor rpm. He rolled the throttle, but no power was being produced from the engine. He landed straight ahead and performed a high altitude run on landing. After touching down, the helicopter slid approximately 30 to 40 feet. The left skid was caught in ground brush, and the left front support of the landing gear was broken. The tail rotor blades were bent, and while still rotating, impacted the skid bar, shearing the bar off and separating the gear box from the tail. The helicopter came to rest on its left side. Postaccident examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector revealed the turbocharger had leaked oil into the induction system. According to his accident report, 'The slight power loss appears to have been caused by the oil leakage pass[ing] the seals in the turbocharger.'

On August 4, 1998, approximately 1430 mountain daylight time, an Enstrom F-28F helicopter, N8619M, sustained substantial damage during an autorotation landing after the engine lost power following takeoff from Aladdin Air Heliport near Bryce Canyon, Utah. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local area sightseeing flight being operated by Aladdin Air Service, Inc. under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot, he was departing to the east when he noticed a drop in rotor rpm. He rolled the throttle, but no power was being produced from the engine. He made the decision to land straight ahead and performed a high altitude run on landing. After touching down, the helicopter slid approximately 30 to 40 feet. The left skid was caught in ground brush, and the left front support of the landing gear was broken. The tail rotor blades were bent, and while still rotating, impacted the skid bar, shearing the bar off and separating the gear box from the tail. The helicopter came to rest on its left side, further damaging one main rotor blade.

The pilot stated that the preflight he performed indicated there was no oil present on the turbocharger blades, and the oil level was indicating 7 qts. According to the pilot, normal rate of oil consumption for this model helicopter is 1 qt. per 10 hours of flight. He estimated the helicopter had ingested approximately 3/4 of a quart of oil into the engine prior to the time of the accident.

Postaccident examination of the aircraft by an FAA inspector revealed that the turbocharger had leaked oil into the induction system. When the exhaust pipe was removed from the turbocharger, oil was found at the bottom of the housing. According to his accident report, "The slight power loss appears to have been caused by the oil leakage pass[ing] the seals in the turbocharger."