- Date
- May 10, 2003, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Panama City Bch, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N51752Enstrom 280C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20030510008179A
- Case key
- 56970
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 failure to maintain adequate rotor rpm and altitude during takeoff which resulted in the helicopter impacting the water during a descent in an attempt to maintain rotor rpm.
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 said he took off over the water, and as he did so his rotor rpm started to decrease, so he lowered the collective and pitched the nose down to increase his rotor rpm and was starting to recover but he ran out of altitude and impacted the water. He said that prior to the accident there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction to the helicopter or any of its systems.
Factual narrative
On May 5, 2003, about 1100 central daylight time, an Enstrom 280C, N51752, registered to Aeroquest Inc., and operated by Paradise Helicopters Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 sightseeing flight, crashed into the water at Panama City Beach, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial-rated pilot and two passengers were not injured, and the helicopter incurred substantial damage. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated that he was taking off over the water from an approved helipad on the beach where he was providing the public with sight seeing rides. He said that the wind was generally from the west, but was at times variable, with a speed of about 5 or 10 knots. He said he took off over the water, and as he did so his rotor rpm started to decrease, so he lowered the collective and pitched the nose down to increase his rotor rpm, and was starting to recover, but he ran out of altutude and impacted the water. He said that prior to the accident there was no mechanical failure or malfunction of the helicopter or any of its systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51752
- Reported as
- Enstrom 280C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1150
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Aeroquest Inc.,, doing business as Paradise Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Aeroquest Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Panama City Bch, FL
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 2,539 total · 25 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.