- Date
- March 27, 1988, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Fremont, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5692PEnstrom 280C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880327008969A
- Case key
- 25818
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
Failure of the engine to main rotor drive system due to a drive belt slippage caused by a drive pulley worn beyond its service limit. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate factory maintenance manuals which did not provide the serviceable limits for the drive belt pulleys.
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 working in the traffic pattern on a local instructional flight, the CFI noticed the main rotor RPM was below the green arc. He entered an autorotation and tried unsuccessfully to get the rotor RPM back into the green arc. The helicopter collided with the ground during the attempted autorotation with a low main rotor speed. Investigation revealed that the engine drive pulley was worn beyond the factory established limit, which allowed the drive belt to slip. The minimum serviceable wear limit for the drive pulley was not published in the factory maintenance procedures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5692P
- Reported as
- Enstrom 280C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1185
- Airframe hours
- 1,673
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-E1BD, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Pegasus Aviation Corporation
- Registered owner
- Joseph R. Reinhard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 29, 1988 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- PAO · Palo Alto, CA
- Destination
- PAO
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
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,701 total · 18 in this make and model · 1,494 as pilot in command · 273 in the last 90 days · 99 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N5692P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.