Enstrom 280 N36DK

Summary

On 30 July 2021 at about 20:25 local time, a Enstrom 280 registered N36DK, operated by Beta Air LLC, was involved in an accident near Colchester, Vermont, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2021 at 20:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Colchester, Vermont, United States

Coordinates

44.5687, -73.3132

Aircraft

Enstrom 280

Registration

N36DK

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1985

Engines

1

Operator

Beta Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Plattsburgh → Burlington

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA309

1 person was seriously injured.

An in-flight fire originating in the engine compartment near the turbocharger from a source that could not be determined, which resulted in a loss of engine power and led to an autorotation and a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that while enroute he smelled and then observed smoke in the cockpit. He also observed a rapidly rising exhaust gas temperature despite moving the mixture to full rich. The pilot initiated a precautionary landing during which the helicopter experienced a partial and then total loss of engine power. During the final segment of the autorotation, the helicopter impacted trees and landed hard on a causeway. Postaccident examination of the engine found significant soot and thermal damage, which precluded a determination of the specific source of the in-flight engine fire. However, one cause of the fire could be eliminated. Specifically, the heaviest area of thermal damage was located around the No. 3 cylinder near the turbocharger. The outer portion of the turbocharger displayed significant thermal damage, but the turbocharger exhaust and inlet clamps were intact and remained tightly installed with safety wires present. Therefore, leakage of exhaust gases from the turbocharger was not the cause of the in-flight fire. The external damage to the turbocharger indicated that its high temperature surfaces were possible ignition sources for an ignitable liquid, such as lubricating oil or fuel. The flexible fuel and oil lines all displayed significant thermal damage, and some were destroyed by fire. Several oil lines were located near the thermal damage in the forward left portion of the engine compartment. Therefore, lubricating oil from these lines was a possible fuel source for the fire. In addition, because the flexible fuel lines were either damaged or destroyed, fuel from these lines could not be eliminated as a source of fuel for the in-flight fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.