Enstrom F280FX N5698M

Summary

On 29 March 2003 at about 00:50 local time, a Enstrom F280FX registered N5698M, operated by Michael DeBard, was involved in an accident near San Carlos, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 March 2003 at 00:50

Classification

Accident

Location

San Carlos, California, United States

Nearest airport

San Carlos (KSQL)

Coordinates

37.5119, -122.2494

Aircraft

Enstrom F280FX

Registration

N5698M

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Michael DeBard

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Carlos → San Carlos

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA119

Nobody was injured.

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations and his inadequate in-flight planning decision. A factor was the low altitude from which the autorotation was attempted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was returning from a local area photography flight when the engine lost power during the landing flare causing the helicopter to land hard. The pilot stated that he made a long approach towards the departure end of runway 30, he executed a 15-foot flare for landing. The low fuel pressure light illuminated, he verified that the fuel boost pump was on, and as he "rolled the throttle on," the engine "sputtered and went dead." In an attempt to safely land the helicopter the pilot made a hard autorotative landing causing substantial damage. Fueling receipts from Rabbit Aviation Services show that the helicopter was fueled on two separate occasions on the day of the accident. At 1125, 32.9 gallons of fuel were added, and at 1403, 39.4 gallons were added. The Enstrom 280FX has a usable fuel capacity of 40 gallons. At 30 inches of manifold pressure and 78 percent power, the endurance at sea level is 2.0 hours. At 32 inches of manifold pressure and 83 percent power, the endurance is 1.8 hours. The pilot reported taking off at 1445, and the accident occurred about 1650.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.