Enstrom F 28C N5697B

Summary

On 19 July 2017 at about 17:10 local time, a Enstrom F 28C registered N5697B was involved in an accident near Ontario, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 July 2017 at 17:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Ontario, California, United States

Nearest airport

Chino Airport (CNO)

Coordinates

33.9714, -117.6353

Aircraft

Enstrom F 28C

Registration

N5697B

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ontario → Ontario

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17LA158

1 person was seriously injured.

The student pilot's mismanagement of the main rotor rpm, which resulted in low rotor rpm, a high descent rate, and a subsequent hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo student pilot reported that he entered the downwind leg to set up for the helicopter's first landing of the day. When abeam the touchdown location, he conducted the prelanding checks with no anomalies noted. Before turning onto the base leg, the pilot lowered the collective, reduced the throttle, and started to descend about 100 ft per minute. During the descent, he observed that the engine rpm was slightly above 2,900 rpm. He reduced the throttle, and the rpm reduced slightly; however, it again increased to 2,900 rpm, and the manifold pressure was about 10 inches of mercury. When the helicopter was about 400 ft above ground level, the pilot heard the engine sound increase, and he observed that the engine rpm had increased to between about 3,300 and 3,500 rpm. The helicopter was unable to reach the runway, so the pilot continued to descend it toward a pasture, and it landed hard in the dirt. A postaccident airframe and engine examination and subsequent engine run revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The observed damage to the main rotor blades was consistent with blade coning, a condition indicative of low main rotor rpm. It is likely that the student pilot mismanaged the main rotor rpm during the descent, which resulted in a low rotor rpm and a high descent rate during landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.