WPR16LA057

The pilot departed in his recently-purchased helicopter and planned to climb to an altitude of 2,000 ft mean sea level (msl). As the helicopter climbed through 1,500 ft msl, the pilot felt an abrupt right yaw and observed the engine rpm drop to zero. The rotor rpm began to decay, and the pilot conducted an autorotation to a dry riverbed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor blades. Neither postaccident examination of the helicopter nor a test run of the engine revealed any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

On January 24, 2016, about 1812 mountain standard time, an Enstrom 280 helicopter, N133AB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power after takeoff from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona. The private pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was destined for La Cholla Airpark (57AZ), Tucson, Arizona. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot had recently purchased the helicopter in Oregon and was relocating it to his home in Arizona. A flight instructor had accompanied him from Oregon to PHX. Upon reaching PHX, the flight instructor disembarked, and the pilot was conducting the final leg of the flight to 57AZ alone. The pilot stated that after takeoff, he climbed the helicopter to an altitude of 2,000 feet mean sea level (msl). As the helicopter climbed through 1,500 feet msl, he felt an abrupt left yaw and observed the engine rpm indication drop to zero. The rotor rpm began to decay, and the pilot conducted an autorotation to a dry riverbed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor blades. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for rotorcraft-helicopter. He reported 98 total hours of flight experience, of which 12 hours were in the accident helicopter. His most recent second-class FAA medical certificate was issued in December 2015. The helicopter was manufactured in 1974, and was equipped with one Lycoming HIO-360 series, 205 hp reciprocating engine. The most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on December 2, 2015, at a total airframe time of 3,123 hours. The engine had accumulated 535.2 hours since its last major overhaul. The helicopter was examined at the salvage facility in Phoenix, AZ in June 2016. The helicopter was largely intact with some damage to the fuselage and tailboom, as well as spreading of the skids. The main rotor blades were significantly damaged. The tail rotor drive shaft was sheared in a manner consistent with overstress failure. The tail rotor turned freely by hand. Cyclic and collective control continuity was established from the cockpit controls. The clutch engaging lever moved through its full travel, with no anomalies noted. The engine cooling fan was intact and undamaged. There was no rotational scoring observed on the housing. The bottom spark plugs were removed and exhibited normal wear characteristics. The #1 and #3 plugs were wet with oil. Visual examination of the belt drive system revealed no anomalies, and the belt drive was removed to ensure disengagement of the main rotor during the engine test run. Power was applied to the helicopter via an external battery, and the engine was started utilizing the fuel onboard. The engine started, accelerated smoothly, and ran for several minutes through all powersettings with no anomalies observed. A normal engine shutdown was completed by pulling the mixture control to the idle-cut off position.