- Date
- August 24, 1990, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ravenna, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9597Enstrom F-28A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 8, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900824036249A
- Case key
- 36721
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
A power loss, due to contamination from deteriorating fuel tank sealant, and the pilot's failure to notice the contamination during preflight.
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 experienced a power loss shortly after takeoff and made a forced landing on a lake shoreline. The main rotor blades contacted the ground. Post crash examination by the FAA revealed the fuel injectors and fuel sump had contamination similar to the fuel tank sealant. The pilot did not detect the contamination during preflight. The FAA also reported the sloping shoreline was the only available place for a forced landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9597
- Reported as
- Enstrom F-28A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0145
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tom Fitalkovich
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1989
- Departed
- 29G
- Airport
- 29G · Portage County
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
- 50
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 10,300 total · 1,700 in this make and model · 10,150 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.