Enstrom 280FX N409LH

Summary

On 20 April 2009 at about 17:22 local time, a Enstrom 280FX registered N409LH, operated by New Course Aviation Company, was involved in an accident near Dacono, Colorado, 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

20 April 2009 at 17:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Dacono, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.0103, -105.0481

Aircraft

Enstrom 280FX

Registration

N409LH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

New Course Aviation Company

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Erie → Erie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA257

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the instructor, the student pilot was making a practice autorotation to be followed by a powered recovery in preparation for his taking the private pilot practical test. When power was added, only 2500 rpm (instead of 3050 rpm) were attained. The helicopter slid approximately 2 feet on a rain-soaked field. The skid toes dug into the soft ground, stopping forward movement and causing the fuselage to shift forward. The main rotor blades contacted and severed the tail rotor driveshaft. In addition the tail rotor gearbox, tailboom, and a main rotor blade were damaged. Postaccident examination of the engine and powertrain revealed no anomalies that would have prevented the engine from producing full power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.