- Date
- June 7, 1991, 07:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Baggs, WY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5695YEnstrom F280C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 8, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910607030589A
- Case key
- 41447
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
Exhaust valve failure, resulting in a partial power loss. Contributing factors were low altitude and rough/uneven terrain.
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 of the Enstrom F280C stated that he heard a loud noise while flying at 50-100 feet AGL. He then descended to a forced landing as the engine RPM decreased. He set the aircraft down hard in tall sagebrush, causing the downhill skid to collapse. As a result of the hard impact the main rotor blades drooped and sheared off the tail boom. Later inspection of the engine revealed that the number three exhaust valve stem had broken and that parts of this valve had destroyed the turbocharger and both spark plugs in the number three cylinder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5695Y
- Reported as
- Enstrom F280C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1205
- Engine
- Lycoming H1O-360-E1AD, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John L. Irwin
- Registered owner
- John L. Irwin
- Departed
- Baggs, WY
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
- 64
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 7,843 total · 949 in this make and model · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- 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.