NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI89FA036
Registry · N6100N
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
MD HELICOPTERS INC 369FF
TCDS
H3WE · MD HELICOPTERS INC (MDHI)
Engine
ROLLS-ROYC 250-C30 (650 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20150123
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A7F123
Registrant of record
USDA APHIS WS ATOC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S POOR INFLIGHT DECISION IN ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT AFTER A PARTIAL ENGINE FAILURE, AND HIS ENCOUNTERING A STALL/SPIN AT LOW ALTITUDE FROM WHICH HE WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER.
Factual narrative
WITNESSES RPRTD THAT WHILE THE ACFT WAS ON THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKING OFF FROM RWY 36, THERE WAS A PARTIAL LOSS OF ENG POWER. THEY RPRTD THE ACFT ENTERED A TURN TO THE WEST & FLEW OVER TREES BETWEEN RWYS 36 & 14 AT A RELATIVELY LOW ALTITUDE. THE ACFT THEN ENTERED A STEEP LEFT TURN AS IF TO LINE UP WITH RWY 14. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE ACFT THEN ROLLED ABRUPTLY TO THE RIGHT, ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT & CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT ENG REVEALED THE LEFT MAGNETO WAS LOOSE & COULD BE ROTATED IN ITS MOUNT IN EITHER DIRECTION. ALSO, WHEN THE #3 CYLINDER WAS REMOVED, IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE A CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACK APRX HALF WAY AROUND THE HEAD. ONE EXHAUST STUD WAS MISSING FROM THE CYLINDER & THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE ENG HAD BEEN OPERATING WITH AN EXHAUST LEAK ON THE CYLINDER. THE ENG HAD ACCUMULATED ONLY 274 HRS SINCE MAJOR OVERHAUL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1988_CHI89FA036.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, engine failure). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Multi-level Adaptation for Automatic Landing with Engine Failure under Turbulent Weather
This paper addresses efficient feasibility evaluation of possible emergency landing sites, online navigation, and path following for automatic landing under engine-out failure subject to turbulent wea…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗