- Date
- February 14, 2024, 17:10 local (Feb 15, 2024, 00:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lewistown, MT · 2.8 miles from Lewistown Municipal Airport
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N899JSEnstrom 280FX
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240214001229A
- Case key
- 193802
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 clearance from terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s encounter with low light conditions and snow-covered terrain.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The airplane rated pilot reported that he departed the airport traffic pattern with the intention of practicing helicopter maneuvers at about 200 ft. above ground level (agl) near sundown. The pilot reported that he felt a loud bang while maneuvering and realized he had “impacted the ground” without warning and the helicopter immediately rolled onto its left side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tailboom. The pilot reported that he encountered a “VFR white out” in “flat light” conditions while maneuvering over snow-covered terrain. He also reported that he was not maintaining a safe altitude. The pilot reported that he had accumulated 59.5 total flight hours in rotorcraft; however, the pilot did not possess a helicopter rating. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N899JS
- Reported as
- Enstrom 280FX
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2049
- Built
- 1989
- Airframe hours
- 1,591
- Engine
- Lycoming HI0-360-F1AD, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- One Pft LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 21, 2023 · 204 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- LWT · Lewistown Muni
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 65
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 23, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,897.6 total · 59.5 in this make and model · 48 in the last 90 days · 12.5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 310° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 14 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KLWT, 2.8 nm away
- METAR
- KLWT 150054Z AUTO 31003KT 9SM -SN OVC009 M10/M12 A3007 RMK AO2 SNB54 SLP245 P0000 T11001117
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 10, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.