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Atlas / NTSB / DEN85LA168

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event DEN85LA168

1985-06-18 GRAND FORKS, North Dakota, United States Airport · GFK None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N5203V

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

YAKOVLEV YAK-50

Year of manufacture

1979 · 6 years old at event

Engine

VEDENEYEV M14P (350 hp)

Seats / Engines

1 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20100405

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A68BC3

Registrant of record

ANCHOR CAPITAL HOLDINGS LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

ON JUNE 18, 1985, A STUDENT PLT AND HIS INSTRUCTOR WERE ON ALOCAL TNG FLT. PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE MISSION, THE INSTRUCTOR HAD HIS STUDENT EXECUTE A 180 DEGREE AUTOROTATION. DURING THE MANEUVER, THE MAIN ROTOR RPM WAS ALLOWED TO DECAY INTO THE CRITICAL RANGE WHICH RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING AND SUBSEQUENTLY DESTROYED THE HELICOPTER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_DEN85LA168.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.