Enstrom 280 N282SH

Summary

On 4 July 2020 at about 00:37 local time, a Enstrom 280 registered N282SH was involved in an accident near Des Moines, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 2020 at 00:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Des Moines, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Des Moines International Airpo (DSM)

Coordinates

41.5183, -93.6825

Aircraft

Enstrom 280

Registration

N282SH

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Des Moines

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA261

1 person had minor injuries.

The partial loss of rotor and engine speed during approach for landing, which resulted in an autorotation and impact with terrain. The reason for the partial loss of rotor and engine speed could not be determined based on the available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper execution of the autorotation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the personal flight stated that during a final approach for landing, the engine and rotor speeds decreased below the green arcs on their respective instruments, and the low-speed alarm sounded. The rotor speed and engine speed remained in synchronization and decreased at the same rate. The pilot stated he added throttle but neither the rotor speed nor the engine speed increased. He thought that the helicopter lost engine power and performed an autorotation, lowering the collective and initially pushing forward on the cyclic. The pilot stated he did not perform the autorotation perfectly and the outcome would have been better with a better execution of the autorotation. The proper entry into the autorotation utilizes aft cyclic inputs. Postaccident examination of the helicopter confirmed flight control continuity. A postaccident engine run excluded the turbocharger system and used engine settings that were different than those of the original engine, which was insufficient to validate normal and original engine operation. The turbocharged engine was a supplemental type certificate installation, and those parameters were not provided and are unknown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.