- Date
- October 11, 1986, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Belmont, NH
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N238QEnstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 3, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861011048509A
- Case key
- 30447
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 helicopter was in cruise flt when an engine failure occurred. The plt entered an autorotation and made a hard landing which collapsed the left front strut. The nose lowered as the tail cone rose and the main rotor made contact with the tail rotor. The cause of the engine failure was a failure of the #4 connecting rod.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N238Q
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 274
- Airframe hours
- 1,083
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-C1B, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Leon J. Riel
- Registered owner
- Granite State Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · October 7, 1986 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- LCI · Laconia, NH
- Destination
- CON · Concord, NH
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 176 total · 176 in this make and model · 115 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 186° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CON, 15 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.